City of Illusions
by Velsun
Summary: It's been two whole year since the Night Howler incident, and Judy and Nick are currently thinking about adopting a child. But first, they must finish taking down a ruthless crime lord. Elsewhere, a cub enters a world that is not his own. Lost and on his own, the boy must find out where he is, and why he's there.
1. Chapter 1: Calling

"Hey, get up."

"Mmmwhat?" I groaned. I opened my eyes slightly to be greeted by fluorescent lights. As blinding as they were, I slowly let my eyes adjust. Besides the light, I noticed I was laying my head on something wooden. There were other wooden tables next to me, and going into rows. _Oh crap, I fell asleep._ I remembered I was at school, and I had fallen asleep. I straightened my body and sat up, wiping away some drool from the corner of my mouth. I noticed most of the other students were leaving the room and going into the hall.

"Dude, are you good now? It's time to go." A familiar voice said. Looking to the left, I realized it was my friend Harry. "C'mon man, tests were done like 3 minutes ago. Can we go?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I'm still waking up, y'know?" I responded as we began to sit up and leave the classroom.

"No, I understand. You were snoring pretty loud, You been getting enough sleep?"

I gave a nervous laugh at the thought of annoying the class with my snoring. "Yeah, I've been sleeping just fine. I'm always tired though, you know that."

"Maybe you wouldn't be tired if you slept at a decent time."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm not going to take that chance though." I replied. Harry rolled his eyes as we left hallway and stepped near the front office. "One sec, I gotta use the restroom." Harry nodded as I stepped into the boy's bathroom. The bathroom was the same as any other schools, except this one was slightly smaller. 2 stalls and 3 urinals. I went to the urinal to relieve myself, and once finished, began to wash my hands. I looked into the mirror to make sure the sleep I had gotten hadn't messed up my hair.

I still looked relatively the same. Same medium black hair, same black eyes, same nose. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except for some drool on my white shirt. Luckily, it was hardly noticeable. Most people's eyes would be drawn to my grass stained jeans. Years of playground roughhousing had caused these jeans to be discolored and ripped near the right shin. As I began to walk away, I noticed my boots made a weird sound. Looking at the bottom of them just revealed I had gum on them. "Ugh." I sighed as I began to scrape it off with a napkin. _This is just great. When did I even step on this? Gah._ Whatever, I got most of it off my boots, and with that I stepped out of the restroom. Harry was there looking at his phone. "You good?" He asked without looking up from his phone.

"Yeah, let's roll." With that Harry put away his phone and we walked out of the school. "Where'd you park?" I asked.

"In the back. You know I'm afraid of other people hitting me."

"Of course. Great, now we have to walk the extra few minutes."

"Fine, why don't you drive us next time- Oh wait!" He began to laugh. "You don't have a car!"

"I don't have a driver's license either, but I do turn 16 next month. Here's hoping Claire buys me a car."

"Oh yeah, your birthday is soon, I forgot."

"You ass…"

"March 18th right?"

"Yessir. So what're you gonna get for me?"

"Whatever I can afford. You seem to think I have money or something." He chuckled at his own joke. I found myself smiling to it as well. We finally arrived at his car, a little volvo from the 80's that his father gave him for his 16th birthday. It was grey and dented in a few areas, and it took a few tries to start the engines on colder days, but it got the job done. _I wouldn't mind it if Claire got me one of these myself._ I entered the passenger side, and Harry began to start the car. "C'mon baby, one try only, one try- HELL YEAH!"

I smiled at seeing Harry getting happy. This man has been with me through the thick and the thin ever since I moved here. He still had his signature brown hair, though it was slightly longer than normal, and his brown eyes. His left cheek was scarred from the time when he was playing around with scissors, spinning it around his finger before he cut himself. He got some funny names for that, and for a whole year he was the butt of a joke. Harry usually dressed the same way throughout his life, dark shirts, dark jeans, and he always had a hoodie or jacket of sort. Today, he was wearing a hoodie with a logo from New York, the same one he got when he went to visit his grandparents.

Harry noticed me looking at him, and said "Uh, you alright man? You want a kiss or something, because you're staring at me seducingly."

I snapped back to reality. "Wait, what?" I asked. Harry just laughed as he reached for his cigarettes on his dashboard. He pulled out one and stuck it in his mouth. He pointed to his lighter, and before he could say anything, I grabbed it and lit the cigarette.

"Much obliged, friend." He said as he exhaled his cigarette. I looked at the cigarettes. I wasn't even sure where he got these from. He was 16, so he was too young to buy them, and his parents didn't really smoke, so I could only guess he had friends to buy it for him. _Oh, maybe his big brother?_ I couldn't stop staring at the red and white box.

"Mind if I have one?" I asked.

"What? You don't usually smoke." He stated. He took another drag from the cigarette before exhaling again. _Guess he doesn't care about the smell staying in his car..._

"I'm worried about the test. Math isn't my strongest subject."

"I think I did alright. Hoping for a B minus at least."

"So uh, about that cigarette."

"I-uh, sure I guess. Here, take the pack, I have another at home. Consider it an early birthday present from me." He tossed the pack at me, and I barely reacted in time to catch it. "Do me a favor, and don't smoke it all at once. This stuff isn't good for you."

"How're you going to lecture me on the harms of smoking when you are smoking a cigarette yourself?" I questioned.

"Whatever man, I'm just looking out for you. I know the harms, and I still choose to do it because I feel like it. I recognize how unhealthy it is, but I don't smoke all the time, y'know? Maybe like once or twice a month."

"Good then, this'll last me about a year then, considering I don't smoke much either." I said as I quickly lit the cigarette and took a drag. After I exhaled, I coughed. _Definitely not used to it._ Harry laughed at the sight of me coughing from the cigarette. He gave me a 'told you so' look as he signaled his blinker to turn left.

We passed the park where we saw some children playing on the swings and monkey bars, supervised by a few parents. They briefly glanced at us before turning back to their kids. I took another drag as Harry drove into the the neighborhood. We didn't live too far away from each other or the school, but Harry insisted on driving to school instead of walking. We only lived a block away from each other, and 5 blocks from the school. I used to walk before he started driving, and I'm grateful he started driving me. It wasn't too cold right now, but in the mornings it made walking hell.

He took another right and pulled into his driveway. "The cigarette doing anything to calm your nerves?" He asked. I nodded, taking in another drag. "That's good to hear. You know doctors used to prescribe it to help calm people's nerves?"

"What are you, a history professor?" I laughed before I started to cough. "Ugh, these things are a bit too strong for me."

"You'll get used to it. You'll build up an immunity."

"Yeah, just like how if you shoot your foot with small bullets, you'll build up an immunity to bigger bullets."

"Go ahead and build up an immunity then, tough guy." Harry said as he rolled his eyes.

"I gotta go. Dinner should be ready soon." I exited the car and stretched. I started to walk away before remembering that I left my backpack in the car. Quickly, I turned around, grabbed it, and closed the door again. _Man, these things are making me dizzy._

"What's for dinner? Rice and sushi, with a side of sake?" He joked. This was a common game we played with each other, and one the teachers _really_ didn't like. We always teased the other about their heritage and made as many stereotypical remarks as we could towards each other. He always went to rice and sushi because I'm half Japanese, and I always went to tea and crumpets because he came from England when he was 3.

"Yup, how did you know? Could it be because you've made the same joke 3 days in a row?" I faked a gasp. "Go eat your tea and crumpets, while talking about the queen you peasant." I remarked as I began to walk home. It was still going to be a few minutes before I got home, so I had time to finish my cancer stick.

"NO SURRENDER! BANZAI!" Harry called from behind.

" _God save our gracious_ _Queen_ _! Long live our noble Queen! God save the Queen!"_ I sang back at him. It was only a few more minutes to my house, so I took another drag. _God damn, I really hope I did well on that math test. What a terrible way to end the day, jesus. Question 14 really made me want to kill myself, who even knows how to do something as stupid as algebra. It's not gonna help me in real life. I mean, why would I ever need to know 5(-3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13? Freshman algebra sucks._ I saw my house coming up, so I took one last drag before putting the tip of the cigarette to the ground, and extinguishing it. I walked some more before seeing a gutter, and tossing the cigarette into it. I sighed as I brushed my clothes off and walked into my yard. I stepped onto the patio and tried to open the door, but my face was greeted by the door. "Ouch." I tried to open the door again, and this time it opened smoothly. _Smooth moves, loser._ I embarrass myself sometimes.

"Hi Claire!" I called out. She was probably in the kitchen preparing dinner. I thought back to what Harry said, and honestly, I wouldn't mind having sushi and rice if she made it. "Are you home?" She must've been home, I don't think she would want to go out with the 3 kids just coming home. She didn't work because she was caring for 3 foster kids, and one of her own. So the government paid her for her service. I was not biologically related to her, but she was a good guardian nonetheless.

I set my backpack near the stairs, and walked into the kitchen. Claire was standing over the over, stirring something in a pot. "Hey Claire." I waved as I saw her. She gave a small smile before she looked back at the pot.

"I didn't hear you come in, sorry. How was school?"

"Same old same old."

"How was your tests?" She asked.

"Eh, I'm worried about the math test, but I think I did well on english and history. Tomorrow's the german test, so I'm worried for that."

"Don't worry about it too much! You do really well on most tests, so I think you should be fine."

"Maybe. Where's Mia?" I asked. Mia was the younger sister of mine, and Claire's only biological child in the family. She was always with her mom since she was only 2.

"She's sleeping, thankfully. She's been quite a handful today." Claire sighed. I respected this woman, she took on the challenge of raising children most people didn't want to adopt, and she did it with a smile on her face. She wasn't one of those horror story foster parents you hear about on the news or in books like Harry Potter or The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow.

Which was weird, because even though she has done these things, I still can't call her my mom. I just… Don't like calling her my mom. Maybe it's because she isn't? She's more of a guardian, and though she tries to act like my mother, I think she and I both know she can't fulfill that role. If she wanted any hopes of being my mom, she'd have to go back in time, and take care of me when I was younger. I've only been in her care for about 3 years, but man did time fly. When I was here, I was the first foster child. I remember the way she would act, try her best to make me happy and make sure she didn't upset me. Luckily for her, I was a very easygoing child, I never argued with authority or anything like that. When I was waaaay younger though… That's a different story. I think what got her the most was the fact that I was more quiet than she thought. I didn't really talk too much or hang out with other kids, instead opting to stay inside. But, as with everything, time brought me out of my shell and changed the area from 'unfamiliar' to 'home'.

"Well, where's Billy and Josh?" I asked.

"They're going to spend the night at Carlos' house, and what that means is I can have some peace and quiet tonight, haha." Claire laughed. "Well, Dinner is going to be ready in about an hour, it's spaghetti."

"Alright, cool. Call me down when it's ready, I'm going to study." I said as I started to head upstairs. I grabbed my backpack, and went to my room, making sure to close the door behind me. I plugged my phone in and pulled out my German book titled ' **Sprechen Deutch Vol 1.** ' The test was mostly over stuff I already knew, yet I was always nervous when it came to doing tests. Test anxiety as some people would call it. Realistically, I didn't need to study, but it always made me feel a bit better just affirming what I knew.

* * *

Somehow, I had gravitated away from the book and to my phone, and was now searching through the news. I just skimmed some of the headlines, not really clicking on anything. ' **Russian Boy Disappears, Investigations Lead to Signs of Abuse.** ' _Huh, that one looks interesting._ ' **Teenager Caught on Camera Stealing Food, Disappears Into the Night.** ' _Hmm… That's interesting. I'll have to read up on it when later tonight._

"Dinner!" Claire called from below. I put my phone down and walked down the stairs into the dining room. Claire had already set the table for us and Mia, and it looked great. "You want anything to drink?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah get me a coke please. Oh, and get Mia some milk please." She politely asked. I nodded and went to the fridge to grab the items, all the while debating whether I wanted Tea or Coke. Ultimately, my unhealthy side won my taste buds, and I grabbed a coke. I put the drinks down in the dining room.

Mia noticed me and tried to greet me. "Hi Bibba!" She smiled. Bibba was her nickname for me since she couldn't say my real name, so she tried to say big brother instead. I don't think she knew that we weren't related by blood, but it didn't bother me.

"Hi Mia!" I smiled back as I gave a little wave. We mostly ate in silence, with Mia and Claire occasionally chatting with each other. Occasionally, Claire would talk to me about what college I was looking at, or what I was thinking of doing. I wasn't sure, so I told her I was still thinking on it.

"You should be a cook!" Mia shouted.

I stifled a laugh. "You might be right, I do like to cook. I'll think about it, thanks Mia." I humored her. She wasn't wrong though, I did like to cook when I wasn't busy being lazy. Oh well, I still have a few years to look around. We finished dinner, and I opted to wash the dishes.

"That'd be nice, thank you." Claire said as Mia and her went to the living room to watch some T.V. Thankfully, there was only 3 plates to wash, so it didn't take long at all. I let the pot soak, and cleaned the strainer before putting it on the drying rack. We have a dishwasher, but I preferred washing them by hand so I could see the cleanliness. I only really used it when there were a lot of dishes.

Once I was finished with the dishes, I went upstairs. "I'm probably gonna go to bed early, I'll cya tomorrow." I called down the stairs. Mia and Claire both yelled good night in unison, and I closed my door and locked it. I sleepwalk sometimes, so I usually used that as a way to stop myself from leaving the room. I hopped on the bed, too lazy to change my clothes right away, and turned on the T.V. Nothing good was on, so I just put on some random cartoons. _Please god, let me do good on that test._ I felt myself getting sleepy. _I should get up...but…so comfortable…_ I closed my eyes. I've slept in regular clothes before, it's no different from pajamas, and they're comfortable in their own way. I managed to turn the T.V off and grabbed my phone and earphones. I put the earphones in my ears, blasted music, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Daylight came sooner than I expected. I groaned as I tried to pull the blanket over me some more, but I guess I accidentally pulled too much, because my legs were exposed. I groaned. _I guess it's time to get up._ I stretched and pulled the blanket off. Wait, why is the sun so bright. _DID I MISS MY ALARM!?_ I noticed I was in a field of grass. _Oh shit. Did I sleepwalk? It's never been this bad…_ I stood up, before realizing something. I wasn't using a blanket… It was my shirt! It was way bigger than me now. _What the hell?_ My pants were also on the ground as well.

 _OH SHIT I'M NAKED._ My clothes were oversized. I had no clothing to cover myself with, so I used my hands. Wait… These aren't my hands! These are… Covered in fur!? _Oh no, oh no._ I looked behind me to see a tail connected to my body. I felt my head and felt whiskers and ears. _Oh god._ I grabbed my shirt, and did the best I could to wrap it around my waist. I looked like someone from Rome, because it was wrapped around my waist and dragging along the ground. _This'll have to do._ I also grabbed my pants and carried them with me as well. My phone was in my front pant pocket, so I left it there since I had nothing to carry it with. _This has to be a dream. It's definitely a weird one… Wait, maybe Lucid dreaming will help me out._ I thought about something popping up… A red ball, or a 7-11 slushie. But nothing came out. _I don't understand… Am I doing it wrong?_

I have nothing left to lose if it is a dream, so I started walking. I could see a lake in the distance, so I walked towards it. Once at the lake, I was startled my reflection. _Oh Jesus!_ I definitely wasn't human anymore. I was… A snow leopard? I think? I was also much smaller than I remembered. _But don't snow leopards walk on all fours? Why am I walking on two?_ Nothing was making sense right now, and I was starting to get scared. _Okay, it's just a dream, it has to be. This is impossible. Wait, is that… A city?_ I looked to my right to see that yes, it was a city.

I don't know what's going on, but I need to wake up. I could feel myself hyperventilating. _I'm okay, I'm okay… Calm down. I… I think I'll go to the city. Maybe if I walk around enough, I can wake up. I hope…_ I thought to myself as I started to walk to the city in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2: Long Dream

~Elsewhere~

"Alpha squad, ready!"

"Bravo squad, ready to go!"

"Delta, ready to roll!"

"Echo squad here, we're covering the exits."

"Roger that. All units minus Echo, breach and clear on my mark." Chief Bogo held a walkie-talkie in his hand. He overlooked his officers standing near the building they were breaching. The building was a huge abandoned factory in the Tundra Town district. For months they had been tracking a huge drug trafficking ring, and after multiple arrests, deals, and undercover business, they had found out that this was where the supply was coming from. Supposedly, today was the day Blackjack was visiting the facility. Blackjack was the highest ranking drug lord in all of Zootopia, and if they managed to arrest him today, the rest of his facilities would fall. Not only that, but it would cause the huge crime waves that had been happening recently to fall, and peace would return to the city.

 _At least until another one of these scumbags start the process all over again._ Chief bogo sighed mentally. However, he pushed the thought out of his head. Today was not the day to think like that. Bogo pressed the button on the radio, and shouted "Breach and clear, breach and clear!"

Alpha squad busted open the front door, and members of the SWAT team poured into the building. Inaudible shouts echoed through the building, as members of the SWAT team shouted for the buildings inhabitants to put their hands up. A small amount did, others ran. The SWAT team fired shots, but not lethal bullets. Guns were outlawed in Zootopia, and the rules of engagement said they were only to be used in high ranking situations, such as a terrorist attack, or a hostage situation. Instead, they began to fire tranquilizer bullets, instantly incapacitating those who were instantly hit by them.

Although Alpha squad was nearly full of SWAT members, two personnel were not from that unit. Instead, they were from the police unit, but they were the chief's top officers. A rabbit and a fox. 2 unlikely alliances that were more than that. Partners. Friends. Spouses. They followed right behind the riot shields, and quickly moved to the left, heading upstairs. SWAT members stayed below, rounding up the other animals downstairs and making arrests. Bravo squad entered from the 2nd floor, so they would meet them there soon enough.

Just as they were about to hit the top steps, the door burst open, along with a cheetah. The cheetah noticed the two officers, and began to pull out her gun. However, this wasn't a regular tranquilizer gun. The pistol had gunpowder ammunition, which meant she was shooting to kill. The rabbit reacted, but not quick enough. The cheetah took aim at the rabbit.

"Judy!" The fox shouted. Luckily, he was already aiming at the door before the cheetah burst in, and he pulled the trigger. Before the cheetah could react, she was falling to the ground, clearly unconscious. Judy tried to catch her, but she fell too quickly and slid down the stairs all the way to the bottom, hitting the end with a 'Thud.'

Judy stopped to catch her breath. "Thank you, Nick." She said. Nick nodded, and they continued upstairs after Nick reloaded. They went through the door at the top of the stairs, checking both sides. To the left was Bravo squad, rounding up any stragglers on the floor. Most of the left side had suspects all zip tied and handcuffed lying on the ground.

"This is Delta, basement floor is nearly clear." Nick and Judy heard over their radio. "Want us to start escorting the suspects outside?"

"Negative Delta, hold your position until Alpha and Bravo have finished their sweep." Chief bogo buzzed through the radio.

"Copy that." The radio went silent, and Nick and Judy went to the right towards the offices. After walking a short distance, they found the door into the head office. It seemed as if no other SWAT members had made it over here yet. Nick got to the right of the door, and Judy got on the left. They looked at each other as Nick held up 3 fingers. Then 2. And finally, 1. As soon as he dropped it he stepped away from the door, and kicked it down. 3 animals were there, an elephant, a tiger, and a wolf.

"ZPD, hands up!" Judy shouted. The wolf raised his hands, but the tiger and the elephant simply turned towards them. Judy narrowed her eyes at the tiger. "You must be Blackjack." She said. The Tiger nodded.

"I know when I've lost, officers. First, could I offer you a drink?" He said nonchalantly.

"You could offer us your hand, because I have a nice silver wristband you'll enjoy wearing." Nick spat back. The tiger simply shrugged and to the desk, picking up a bottle and pouring himself a drink in the process. During this time, Judy arrested the wolf and Nick arrested the elephant.

"Before you cuff me, maybe you want to think about this." He paused to take a sip of his drink. "I'm the reason the city is at peace. I'm what's currently keeping all the gangs from going into an all out war. My services give everyone what's wanted."

"Except the ZPD. My job is to protect the people of this city, and distributing drugs is not a part of that. You say you've kept peace, yet I've seen what you're capable of. Everyone who does something you even remotely dislike has." Judy stated.

"So you've seen what's happened to them... And yet, you want to arrest me. That's some weird logic, but all right."

"Enough chit chat." Judy said. She forcibly grabbed Blackjacks hand and arrested him. "You have the right to remain silent - all of you. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have a right to an attorney-"

"All I'm saying is that I hope this is the happiest points in your life. I'll be back in my comfortable 3 story mansion within a few days. You however…" He trailed off. He quickly cleared his throat before speaking again. "If you do this, then I hope for your sake that your family is rather far away."

Judy roughly pulled him back. "Was that a threat? Did I just hear a threat against an officer of the law?" She retaliated.

"No ma'am, simply a suggestion." Blackjack smiled. Nick and Judy began to escort the three individuals out of the room. As soon as they left, members of Bravo squad appeared and took them off their hands. One tried to take Blackjack from Nick and Judy.

"No no, he's our catch." Judy said. The SWAT member nodded, and went downstairs. Blackjack just gave a small smile before he started whistling as they walked downstairs. "Chief, we got him."

* * *

~Savanna Central~

I was so lost. I must have hit what was downtown, because millions of animals were here in the streets and sidewalks. There were even cars with animals inside, and some were as huge as trucks. My stupid tail kept making my shirt ride up in the back, and I wasn't exactly sure how to control it. _Definitely an odd dream to be having. And the fact that the city was so far away that I had to walk 15 minutes? Jesus…_ A sheep glanced down at me in a weird look of concern and uncertainty. Maybe it was the pants that I was still carrying around. I still had the cigarettes Harry gave me, along with my phone, wallet, and the lighter I forgot to give back to him. _Wait, what? Why is this in my dream, out of everything? It wasn't even significant!_ Whatever, I crossed the street into another sidewalk. Judging by all the shops and markets, this side of the sidewalk was more of a commercial district. From what I could see, it seemed that most of the food they were advertising was for predators, whatever that meant. Most of it pointed towards fish, fruits, vegetables, and… Bugs? _That's disgusting._

I looked up, the sun was going down it seemed. _Wait, what time was it when I woke up? It had to be like 5._ _Whatever, I still need to wake up and study a bit more for the test._ I went down the alley next to me and pulled out the cigarette pack. 18. Okay, so they didn't refill in the dream. That kinda sucks. Whatever I'll just take one more before I wake up, see if I can feel the effects when I wake up. I lit one up, taking a hit. Immediately, I started coughing, and had to drop the cigarette. _My throat! It burns!_ I grasped at my throat, as I kept coughing.

 _Dammit! What the hell! It was never this bad before, not even when I first smoked…_ I managed to calm myself down, but now I was dizzier than before. I burnt out the cigarette on the ground. I felt like I was going to collapse, so I quickly rolled up my pants into a sort of pillow. _Alright, this dream sucks, let me just wake up now._ I lied down, and closed my eyes, eager to wake up. _Harry's going to make fun of me for this, but at this point, I would too._ I was already pretty fatigued from walking around so much, and the cigarette did not help. _Alright, sleep now..._

I let my mind wander around to this abstract dream of mine, and tried to push it out and think of nothing. That was usually how I fell asleep. The other option was watching television, but I think that's out of the question. I started to feel myself fall asleep (or was it waking up at this point?) so I didn't think of anything. _Finally...I can wake up..._

* * *

I felt awful. Maybe it was because I didn't sleep in my normal pajamas. That much I remembered. The sunlight was still as harsh as it was in my dream, and I wasn't really in the mood to get up. My stomach rumbled, and I knew I had to get up. _Maybe I'll ask Claire to make me some pancakes today. Maybe that will help me out._ I stretched and opened my eyes. The sky was there. Again. With buildings.

"Oh fuck."

I jolted awake and looked at myself. It was the same as it was in the dream. I had fur all over, and I had paws. That was the first time I actually heard myself speak. I sounded young. Really young. My voice was high pitched, to the point that I sounded like a girl. It was almost like puberty never happened for me. Something was wrong.

This wasn't a dream. This was real. I wanted to scream and cry, but that would do nothing except draw attention to myself. I don't know why either, I'm usually calm and collected during stressful moments. Maybe it was the fact this was of a magnitude I wasn't used to. It could also be because I wasn't myself. I'm younger, at least I think I am. I definitely feel younger and smaller. Could that be having an effect on me? Something with my brain, or hormones? _I DON'T KNOW, I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS._ I buried my face into my hands and resisted the urge to cry. What will Claire think when she finds out I'm not there? Will she get in trouble by the government because I disappeared? What will Mia think when her big brother isn't there? Josh and Billy too, they'll miss playing video games with them, and sneaking them into R rated movies.

I calmed myself down. Now was not the time to get emotional. I made it into this weird world, so there must be a way out. My stomach roared pretty loud this time. I needed food. I pulled out my wallet and looked through it. Only a few dollars. Judging by the fact that this isn't the earth I know, I doubt money would still be the same. Still, I was sure I would figure something out. I was a 15 year old human… Or at least I was. I slowly stood up, using the wall to help me up. I had never felt this weak in my life. My legs were shaking. _I haven't eaten in about...25 hours? Is that right? I'm not really sure, I don't even know what time it is…_

I walked out of the alley and into the sidewalk. No one was really around, and it sorta seemed to be pretty early in the morning. Maybe… 7 or 8? I walked to my right, and went through one of the open doors into a convenience shop. The shopkeeper payed no attention to me as I walked to the back of the shop. As I followed the aisle, I noticed some weird packages of foods I had never seen. There was bug jerky, bug gum, fruit squares… Wait that last one seemed more common in my world.

The back of the store is where most of the fruits and vegetables were. They had apples, bananas, carrots, celery, lettuce, potatoes, and peaches. I could actually feel my mouth water as I looked at these appealing foods. It was no pancakes and bacon, but it would have to do. The entire produce box was bigger than me, so I had to jump just to be able to reach it. I hopped up, and grabbed a few apples. The ones I happened to grab were red as a barn, and looked delicious. I looked at the door, and back at the apples at my hands. _Oh no, am I really going to do this? It's wrong… But I'm so hungry… I've never done something like this before, oh god what would Claire think… No, in this hazardous area, my chances of survival are too low. I have to do it._ I tied my pants around shoulder, making sure the pocket parts were facing up so they wouldn't drop anything. I maneuvered my annoying ass tail around so it wasn't caught in my pants. I slowly put 2 apples in my pocket, then a third one in another pocket.

Feeling disgustingly immoral, I began to walk towards the door. The cashier was still reading a newspaper. _Just a few more steps, and I'm home free. Just about-_ My eyes widened in horror as one of the apples fell out of my pants pockets and onto the floor. I slowly looked at the cashier, only to see him looking back at me. We stared at each other for what felt like minutes, but in reality it was only 3 seconds.

 _Run!_

"Hey, stop!" I heard the shopkeeper yell as I started to bolt outside.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled back as I ran out of the store.

* * *

~Savanna Central~

Nick and Judy were cruising around in their police car, patrolling for anything out of the ordinary. Judy was driving like usual, with Nick keeping an eye outside, while occasionally glancing at his phone. Judy suddenly spoke up. "Nick… Do you think we should still adopt?"

Nick put his phone down, ready for a serious talk. "Carrots, you said you wanted to be a mom. I want to be a dad too, so why are you changing your mind? Getting cold feet?" Nick gave a sly grin. "I could warm em' up if that's what it is."

Judy gave a small smile. "No, you dumb fox. I was... Just worried about what Blackjack said yesterday, all those thinly veiled threats. Would now really be the best time? I don't want anything bad to happen to our child."

"Carrots, we always get threats. We're cops. Our job is to lock up the bad guys, so the world can be safer for adults and children, including our own. If you're worried because he's Blackjack, need I remind you we arrested one of the mayor's of the city because she tried to destroy everything predators worked on?"

"When you put it like that, I guess you're right. Thanks, Nick. You're the best!" She gave an enthusiastic smile. "Well in that case-"

The radio crackled, ending their discussion. "Any available units, possible 484 in progress at the 'Grab N' Snack' on 47th and 12 in the Savanna Central, please respond."

Nick grabbed the microphone. "This is Officer Wilde, we'll check it out."

"Alright, be careful out there Nick!" Clawhauser responded over the radio before it went silent. Judy turned the police lights on, and Nick put on his aviators. Maneuvering through the traffic, Judy took a left, then took another right, and arrived at the Grab N' Snack. Judy hopped out of the car, and ran to the cashier.

"I'm officer Judy Wilde, you reported a theft. What did they steal? Are you alright?" Judy asked a torrent of questions. The cashier answered them as best as he could, and pointed the two officers into the direction the theft ran. "We'll be back as soon as possible. Don't worry, we'll catch the thief." Judy reassured the cashier. He thanked them as he went back into the store.

Nick and Judy got into the car and began to drive in the direction they were told. "Okay, so we're looking for a… Snow leopard with a long white t-shirt and pants wrapped around his shoulders? That's it, no pants?" Nick snickered. "That shouldn't be too hard to find, right?"

"Public indecency will also be a part of his charge when I'm through with him." Judy stated.

* * *

~Somewhere in Savanna Central~

I had to stop to catch my breath. I collapsed against a wall. _I'm so exhausted._ I grabbed the one of the apples from my pockets, and cleaned it off with my shirt. I took a bite, graciously embracing the taste of the shiny red apple. Food had never tasted so good in my life, and I quickly ate more. _Alright, that's going to have to be enough. I need to find a way to get home now, lest something else keeps me from leaving._ I stood up and dusted myself off. _Now I just feel like a shitty person. I'll pay him back somehow._ I started walking again, unsure which way was the correct way out of the city. The entire city felt like one big maze, but then again, don't most cities?

By now there were more animals up and about, but not as many as there were yesterday evening. Thankfully, there were no really big or really small animals around. Actually, it seemed like most of them were carnivores. The kinds of animals that hunted. That's...unnerving actually. _I'll just do my best to lay low, not attract any attention._ A car pulled up the my right and parked, but I was just trying to blend in as much as possible. It probably wasn't working, though, because I was wearing clothes that were like 3 times my size.

I felt someone tap my shoulder, and I turned around. A rabbit stood there, arms crossed. She was wearing a blue uniform and… Oh shit, that was a police badge. The aviators she had on instilled fear into my heart. It seems that the car that pulled up to my right wasn't a regular car, but a police cruiser. "Y-Yes Officer?" I asked in trepidation. Another officer- a fox- walked behind her, increasing the intimidation factor.

"Son, we need to ask you some questions about a store that was recently a victim of theft." The fox stated. "A few apples were stolen. This is a very serious offense here, and we're looking for the bad kid who would do something like this. Do you have any idea who could've done it? If you were to tell us, we could possibly help them clear this serious offense." He lowered his aviators, revealing his green eyes. He quickly winked at me before he put his aviators back on.

 _THEY KNOW._

I immediately turned heel and began to run. I don't know how close they were to me, or if they were even following me, but I didn't waste time looking. I dodged the other animals through the sidewalk, and ran as fast as my short legs would allow me. I had to grab onto my tail to make sure it didn't get caught on anything. I kept running, feeling my heart pounding as fast as it ever has. While running, I felt my last apple slip out of my pockets. I skidded to a halt, about to go and grab the apple as it was my last food source, when I saw the rabbit cop no less than a yard behind me. _Dammit! I have to leave it!_ In a last ditch effort to get away from the cops, I ran across the street. I didn't notice any cars beforehand, so I must have been safe. I made it across the first lane, and as I entered the second, I heard a loud honking noise. I turned towards it, seeing a huge truck charging at me.

I froze, unable to move out of fear. I was done for. I closed my eyes out of fear. I was going to die in a foreign land, not even a place I knew well. The thought saddened me. I was still frozen when I felt myself being picked up before being thrown onto the ground. I opened my eyes to see that the rabbit cop managed to pick me up and move me out of the trucks way, no doubt with her powerful legs. She was catching her breath. "Thank you." I said before I got back up to run.

"Nuh-uh." I yelped as I felt a sharp pain towards my lower back, and dropped to my ass. She had grabbed my tail to keep me from running away. Now that I was on the ground, she managed to quickly handcuff my left arm, and her right arm. "Now, we're together, and you can't put yourself in harms way again."

The fox caught up to the rabbit, clearly concerned for her and, surprisingly, my safety. "What were you thinking! You could've been killed!" He yelled sternly at me. "I expected you to admit to your crime, not nearly get yourself killed!" He yelled at me like a father would a small child.

"Listen, you know what you did was a crime, right?" The rabbit said in a more calm voice.

"I don't know...I just ran because I didn't want to get in trouble. I don't know where I am. I can't find my way home…" My voice cracked as I said those last few words. Tears slowly seeped out of my eyes as I closed my eyes, trying to hide my tears to no avail. "I was just so hungry, a-and I didn't have any money. I'm l-lost, and I don't know where my family is." I cried. I buried my face in my arms. They weren't fake tears either, they were genuine. I honestly did feel bad about stealing the food, but it was the only way I was going to be able to eat. I tried not to make too much noise, but my sniffles and hiccups were louder than I wanted them to be, which made me feel embarrassed.

"Whoa, calm down sweetie. You're lost?" The rabbit asked. I nodded without looking up.

I could hear the fox crouch down to get more on my level. "It's gonna be okay, we're police officers, see?" He said as he unpinned his badge and showed it to me. I looked at it. ZPD - Zootopia Police Department? Is that what this city is called? Zootopia? "My name's Nick Wilde. This is my partner Judy Wilde. We're going to help you get find your family, okay?" He affirmed in a soothing voice.

I managed to calm myself down to finally be able to talk coherently. "O-okay." I managed. I wasn't sure what they would be able to do, but they were police officers, so there was a higher chance of them being able to help me, right? I wiped my eyes.

"Do you not have any clothes?" Judy, the rabbit, asked. I shook my head.

"These are what I woke up with."

"Can you tell us anything about yourself? What's your name?" She asked another question.

I sniffled and wiped my eyes again. "M-my name? My name is...Jin."


	3. Chapter 3: Reignite Myself

I was in the process of being escorted back the Nick and Judy's police vehicle. Once they found out I wasn't a thief with malicious intent, but a scared child hungry for any sort of food (At least I think I was a child, they kept referring to me as one), Judy uncuffed me from herself. However, she insisted that I hold her hand all the way back so I wouldn't run off. I obliged; it was the least I could do after making them run after me. Nick and Judy asked questions as we walked to the car, and I answered to the best of my ability. I didn't expect them to believe that I wasn't always a snow leopard, so I kept my mouth shut. I felt if I did say anything, they would take me to an asylum.

We arrived at the police cruiser. "Have you ever been in one of these before?" Nick asked me. I shook my head. "Let's try and keep it that way. Wouldn't want you to get in too much trouble." He gave a sly smile as he opened the back door. I hopped inside as he strapped the seat belt to me and closed the door. There was a metal grate in between the back and front seats, probably to stop any attacks on the officers. _Well, at least some things are still the same._ Nick got into the passenger seat, and Judy got into the driver seat. _Huh, she's sorta small to be driving… I wonder how they do that…_

"Okay Jin, we're going to go to the police station so we can use the computers there, and search through the database for your parents. We'll help return you to your family," Judy gently stated as she began to pull forward.

"O-okay" I responded. I was in disbelief that they would find anything on me. What then? What would happen to me? Would I get stuck at an orphanage? Or another foster home? AGAIN? The thought bothered me, but right now, it wasn't the time to worry about that. I sat on my knees to get a boost and look outside; I was too short without it. I watched the buildings pass by, noticing all the stores with merchandise geared towards herbivores and carnivores, and then clothing stores for big animals. After another block, there were more stores, although these were aimed more at college students, such as bookstores, clothings shops, and cheap foods. Not too far away, I could see a library right next to a square park. Not too far away from that was a big building. It must have been a college of some sort.

I felt pretty exhausted. Maybe it was because of my running away from Judy and Nick. Maybe it was because I slept on the ground last night, and didn't really have any good meal. I took my phone out of my pants pocket. Toying around with it, I found it had no battery. _Would it even have worked? I doubt it._ My wallet still had nothing there, my lighter still had a decent amount of fuel, and had 17 cigarettes.

"Wait, turn over here." Nick began. "I see something that will come in handy."

"Alright," Judy responded. Judy turned right at the next intersection, and parked in an open spot near an alley. "Where are you going?" She questioned. Nick stepped outside, closed the door, and gave a wink. "No Nick, seriously, where are- wait here Jin, I'll be right back. Nick!" She called after him. I watched her close the door and run after him. Nick appeared to be walking towards an orange van parked in the alley. He knocked on the door in the back. Nothing happened, so he knocked again, and took a step back. By now Judy caught up right next to Nick. The door opened quickly to a little brown… fox? _Was that a fox? I've never seen it a fox look like that._

He looked pissed, but as soon as he saw Nick, his expression softened. Nick began talking to him, and the fox raised an eyebrow. Nick nodded, and Judy looked at Nick before looking at me, giving a small wave, and looked back at the fox. The brown fox looked at me for a second, and I felt myself get intimidated. I slid back down, deciding to wait for them to finish. Not even 5 minutes later, Nick and Judy returned, but this time the brown fox came with them.

"Jin, this is Finnick," Nick said. I looked at him. He was the same size as me, maybe slightly bigger. I still felt pretty intimidated by him, so I avoided eye contact.

"H-hello." I murmured.

"How's it going kid? Heard you were lost," he stated. His voice matched his tough demeanor, making him seem like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. I nodded. "Don't worry, Nick's one of the best cops I've ever met, even if he is a big ol' loser," he joked. I cracked a small smile, and Nick gave a small annoyed, yet amused look. Judy just snickered. "Here, why don't you come to my van. I got some extra clothes that I'm willing to part with for you," he offered as he opened the door. I looked at Nick, unsure what to do. However, he gave a small nod of approval, and I untied the pants around my shoulder, and got out of the car and followed Finnick.

He led me to the back of his van, hopped inside, and pulled out some old clothes from a box. It looked like he was living inside his van. Finnick popped back out, and handed me the clothes. "Here you go, you could use these more than me." He gave a genuine smile. "I'll stand over there if you want to get changed. I'll make sure no one comes," he assured me as he walked away. I got inside the van, and quickly began to change. I looked at what kind of clothes he gave me. He had some dark brown shorts with a hole for a tail, and a button-up shirt. _That was really nice of him, I'll make sure to thank him somehow._ Once I was completely dressed, I stepped out, carrying my original T-shirt over my shoulder. Finnick turned around when he heard me jump out of the van. "Not too shabby. I've got taste, if I do say so myself," he guffawed.

I scratched my head. "I uh...I don't have money to pay for this," I began. I looked down sadly. _It would have felt nice to have clothes that fit for once._

Finnick smiled. "Don't sweat it, I said you could have them for free. There's no point in having old clothes if I can't get some use out of them. I guess this is one of their uses." Both Nick and Judy gave a thumbs up.

I smiled. "Thank you," I gushed as I moved in for a hug. "This is the nicest thing anyone's done for me since I got here." Finnick visibly shifted.

He scratched his head and blushed. "Y-yeah well… Whatever, y'know? As long as you get some use out of them," he finished. I could sense that he wasn't used to having any physical contact, so I pulled away from him. "Now go on and go find your parents."

"Thanks Finnick." I said as I ran towards Nick and Judy. I felt like a child who opened his presents on christmas with these brand new clothes. Finnick waved at us as we got into the police cruiser, and began to drive off. "That was real nice of him."

"Yup, Finnick's an old friend of mine. I just asked him to help you out, and he was glad too. Don't tell him I told you this, but he's got a soft spot for kids." Nick snickered.

"That was really nice of him. How do the clothes fit you, Jin?" Judy asked.

"They fit well. You guys didn't have to do that for me!" I replied. I felt bad. First, I stole an apple, then, I nearly got myself and Judy killed, and now they got clothes for me. _Man do I feel bad._

"You have no need to worry about it, it's our job," Judy said. "Nick just told him to give you some breathable clothes because you're a snow leopard so you don't overheat is all."

"Thank you, both of you." I said sincerely. They both told me to not worry about it. I looked outside again, wondering when I could go home. _I hope Harry's alright without me. He usually needs me to help him study. How many days of school will I miss before I get back? What will I say to them?_ All these thoughts flew around my mind. I just decided to close my eyes, and think about home. Nick and Judy are nice, but I miss Harry and Mia. I prayed I'd be home soon.

* * *

I felt someone shake my shoulder. "Mmmm," I groaned. I was still tired, and this police car was incredibly comfortable. _I wonder if it's this comfortable back where I live? Wait… Would I want to find out?_ Someone shook me again.

"Jin, we're here," Judy whispered. I rubbed my eyes and opened them. Outside behind Judy was a big brown building that looked like it was made out of rocks. On the front of it were the words 'Police'. This was the police station? It… Really was not what I was expecting. Nonetheless, I stretched as I got out. I held Judy's hand as we walked towards the police station.

Never really giving it a notice, I looked at my height compared to Nick and Judy. I was at shoulder length with Judy, and about as high as Nick's hip or stomach. _I really need to see a mirror. I only have a somewhat faint idea of what I look like thanks to the lake I woke up next to._ Judy and Nick opened the door for me. "Thank you." I said politely before trying to hold it open for them. However, the door was a bit heavier than I thought. Nick snickered, and Judy gave an 'awww'. I blushed and looked away. We continued on towards a reception area, where a big cheetah awaited.

"Hi Nick! Hi Judy! And who's this little guy?" He asked. I hid behind Nick as he stared at me. It was the same thing with Finnick, I just felt intimidated by them. It was something that had been with me for a very long time. I was just naturally shy, and not being in my normal body certainly didn't help.

Nick chuckled. "Clawhauser, this is Jin. He's sorta lost, so we're going to look through our database and see if we can help find his parents."

"Alright! I'm sure everything'll be fine, don't worry little guy!" He reassured me. I was still too shy to answer, so I just sorta nodded. "He's SO cuuuuuuuuuute!" Clawhauser gushed as we walked away. We went to a more open area where there were desks, computers, and lot's of papers. Judy jumped up on one of the chairs, and began typing. Nick sat on the opposite side, and told me to sit next to Judy. I complied and sat down in the plastic looking chair. It was the type of chair people would sit in when they were telling the police what they saw while the officers took it down on the computer.

Judy spoke up "Alright Jin. I'm going to ask you some questions, can you answer them as best as you can?"

"Um, okay," I replied.

"What's your full name?" Judy asked.

"Jin Winters."

"What are your parents names?"

"I only have one. She's not my mom though, she's my guardian. Her name is Claire Winters."

"Oh! Are you adopted?" Judy asked. She didn't say it in a patronizing way at all, thankfully.

"Foster child, actually."

"Alright, that'll help narrow it down. When's your birthday?"

"March 18th."

"How old are you?"

"I uh…" How old was I? I couldn't very well say 15, because I wasn't 15 here, I was another age. I truthfully couldn't answer this question. "I don't… Know?" I responded truthfully.

"Hm...Well you look to be around 3… I'd say 3 or 4. What would you say Nick?" Judy asked Nick.

Nick looked at me, studying the way I looked. "Hmm… I don't know, Carrots. I think he could be as young as 2. I think 3's a good guess, and probably right."

"I don't think he's that young, Jin knows lots of words. Speaking of, you know a lot of vocabulary, even for your age. You're speaking at a much higher grade level than most kids your age. Did you learn it on your own or…?"

"I read a lot of books," I responded. That was actually true, when I was younger I read lots of books. Even now, I still read for fun usually. I was really into the fantasy and sci-fi genre. I wonder what kinds of books they have here? I'll have to ask Nick and Judy sometime.

"Good! Readings really good for you," Judy encouraged. Nick rolled his eyes, and continued looking through his computer. Now that I was at a height which I could see Judy's desk, I inspected it. She had her own name engraved on a nameplate that read "Judy Wilde." I also looked at a photo of her and Nick, standing together under an altar. _Whoa...They're married?_

"You two are married?" I asked.

Judy smiled brightly. "Yes we are. We got married last year, up at a little mountain lodge only a few hours from there. It was such a magical night…" Judy closed her eyes, remembering the event fondly. Nick gave a huge grin.

"You two are really cute together," I commented.

"Thanks kiddo. You wouldn't believe how many people used to say the opposite," Nick said. I cocked my head slightly. _What does he mean by that?_ Nick saw my confusion, and decided to give further input. "You see, predator and prey usually aren't meant to be friends with each other. It's a social thing. It used to be a lot worse when, it's not nearly as bad now. So could you imagine how people felt when we got married?" Nick shook his head. "We got a few nasty remarks. Overall though, we had mostly positive."

"How often does marriages like that happen?"

"Not too often, but it's not completely rare. No one really makes any remarks about it, thankfully. It seems it's mostly passed into a norm, now."

"That's good to hear." I responded. Judy went back to asking me questions, and I answered as truthfully as I could. Most of the questions, however, ended up being unanswered because I wasn't sure how to answer them. Judy finished off the last of the questions, and began to look through her computer.

"Hmm... I'm not finding anything in here, and no reports of missing children. You answered them as best as you could, right?" Judy asked. I nodded. _I knew they weren't going to find anything, I don't know what I was expecting._ "I'll try again, but with different parameters selected this time."

"Can I use the bathroom?" I asked. I hadn't realized that I needed to use the restroom, but all this sitting down finally made me realize. _I've been here for 2 days, already. Time flies… Damn I wish I was back home, in my own bed. I miss Harry._

"Sure, c'mon. I'll show you where it is," Nick said as he got up from his chair. I followed him quickly. We went through the office area all the way to the left, where there were 2 doors. One had a female lion in a dress, and the other had a male wearing nothing. They strangely resembled the male and female restroom signs back in my world. Was that correct? Was I in a different world? Nonetheless, I went inside the bathroom. Nick waited outside for me.

Immediately, I noticed that there were different sized stalls, probably for the big animals and smaller ones. Same thing with the sinks and mirrors. Thankfully, there was no one inside. I used the stall that was appropriate to my size. Once finished, I walked to the sink and began to wash my hands. I looked at the mirror, finally getting a look at myself. I had spots all over my face and body. The most noticeable spot was right under my left eye. It was longer than the rest, and ran horizontally across the bottom of the eye. My face and body showed that I was indeed, very young. I felt sad looking at myself, realizing that if I didn't get home, I would stay stuck like this, and possibly have to go through another 10 something years of my life again. I noticed my ears folded back when I thought about it. _Great, they even do that too. Now people will know when i'm sad._ That thought annoyed me.

I looked at my hands- er, paws. I had retractable claws, that much I knew. I think if if I just… I spread my hands in a claw formation. I could barely notice small claws at the end of my fingers. _That's pretty cool actually. I'll have to learn how to make them come out fully._ I relaxed my hand, and the claws went away.

 _So I'm a kid again, huh? I've noticed I've been acting more like one than a teenager. I don't like that… I don't know why, but It just feels more correct to act like a child. I'm gonna have to try and act my real age. Maybe if I do it enough, I won't feel like a child anymore._

I finished washing my hands, and went to dry them. Thankfully, they had one of those air dryers. I wouldn't have to deal with wet fur. _I imagine they're a lot like wet socks._ I walked out of the bathroom and into the main hall. Nick was waiting to my left, looking at his phone. He quickly put it back in his pocket once he noticed I walked out. "Good to go?" He asked. I nodded, and we walked back to the desk Judy was working at. She was typing furiously, looking as determined as I've ever seen her. I sat back down next to her. She sighed, still looking through the computer.

"I can't find anything. No reports or anything." Judy put her face in her hands.

"That's okay. Thanks for trying," I responded, sadness in my voice.

"We'll find some sort of living arrangement, don't worry. I'll be right back. Nick, come with me?" She asked. Nick nodded, and stood up. "Wait here, Jin," She said as her and Nick walked towards the front desk.

* * *

~Front Desk~

Judy walked towards Clawhauser, with Nick close behind. As she reached the front desk, she asked Clawhauser a question. "Hi Clawhauser, we can't find anything on Jin's parents. Do you still have the phone number to the local orphanage? We have to put him there for now until we find his parents."

"Oh no! Didn't you hear? The orphanage burned down a few days ago! It was a stove fire. Luckily, no one was hurt, but they've relocated to a small shelter, and they're packed to the brim. They can't take any more children at the moment," Clawhauser responded sadly. "What are the other options?"

"We don't have any other options. If he goes back out, he's going to be on the streets again. Unless…" Judy looked at Nick with puppy dog eyes. Nick looked back at Judy.

"Uh...Carrots, I don't really think that's a good idea," He stated.

"But why not? We want a child someday, and maybe this will be good practice! It's only for a few days until the orphanage isn't full, and if we don't take him he'll have nowhere else to go."

"What about him? You can't just decide to take him without even asking him. Besides, even if I said yes, I'm sure the Chief would just say no. Ultimately, it's up to him."

"Let's go ask him then!" Judy said excitedly. She pulled Nick's arm as she ran to the chief's office. Nick begged her to stop, and kept saying his arms were hurting.

"Good luck you two!" Clawhauser called from behind.

Judy knocked on the door of Chief Bogo's office. A gruff "Come in" was heard, and Nick and Judy entered the room. "Nick, Judy, good to see you. What can I do for you?" He asked as he looked up from his paperwork.

"Chief Bogo, while patrolling the city we came upon a young cub who was lost and wearing only a shirt about 5 times as big as him. We brought him back to the station to see if we could help him find his parents, but we found nothing in the database." Judy stated.

"Is the child illegal?" Chief Bogo asked.

Judy shook her head. "I don't think so. He's talking very well for his age. I just think he's lost and doesn't know his way around. Anyways, back to the point, we were trying to put him in an orphanage for the night, since he has nowhere else to go, but it's full. The only other option we have is to take him home with us until there's room."

"Uh, for the record Chief, I didn't agree to this." Nick chimed in.

"Have you asked him? What does he think about it?" Chief Bogo asked. Nick looked dumbfounded. He honestly didn't expect Chief Bogo to give it a thought, let alone possibly agree to it.

"We haven't talked to him yet about it." Judy responded.

"Well alright. Let's go down and ask him. I'll come with you, I'd like to meet him myself." Chief Bogo said.

* * *

~Judy's Desk~

I swung my legs back and forward while I sat there, waiting for Nick and Judy. They've been gone for about 10 minutes now, and I couldn't help but feel bored. I groaned. This sucked. I closed my eyes, but immediately opened them when I felt myself kick someone's leg. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized. The person I kicked was apparently a tiger wearing a nice blue suit. He was accompanied by a weasel carrying a briefcase and wearing a nice brown suit.

The tiger smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, you'd have to try than that to take me down," he laughed. "What's your name, son?" He asked politely.

"J-Jin. My name's Jin." I responded.

"That's a nice name. What're you doing at a police station?"

"They're helping me find my home. I g-got lost and I can't find my way back."

"That's sad to hear. I'm sure everything will be just fine. The police are very good at their job, you know that? Who's helping you?"

"Their names are Nick and Judy."

He smiled a bit more. "Oh! They're the best cops in the city. They cracked a major case that made predators previously go feral 2 years ago." _Feral? What does that mean?_ The tiger continued. "They also busted a big drug ring yesterday." The weasel tugged on the Tiger's coat. "Hmm? Time to go already? But I was talking to my new friend too… Oh well, I'll see you later Jin!"

"Wait! What's your name?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Me? My name's Phillip Castallo. However, close friends just call me Blackjack." He responded before he walked out and into the city. _He seemed pretty nice. Wonder what he was doing here, now that I think about it. Maybe he works with the police?_

Judy ran up to right next to me. "Jin, are you okay? Did he do anything to you? What did he say to you?" She bombarded me with questions. I barely managed a 'what' before she asked more questions.

"N-nothing, he just said hi was all. I accidently kicked him, so I said sorry, and he asked for my name."

"Don't talk to him if you see him again, okay? He's a very bad man." Judy asserted. I didn't think he was a bad person, as a matter of a fact, he seemed rather fine to me. However, Judy was a cop, so I nodded and followed what she said. She calmed down. "Okay, good." _I didn't even know she was watching!_ Just then, Nick and a huge buffalo walked up next to her. I hid behind Judy. "Jin, this is Chief Bogo. He's the chief of police, he's here to ask you some questions."

Chief Bogo kneeled down to be closer to my eye level. "Hey son. I heard you can't find your home right now, is that correct?" I nodded my head. "I'm sorry to hear that. Nick and Judy are going to help you find your parents, I promise. Until then, you'll need a place to stay, and the orphanage is full. Judy was wondering if you wanted to stay with them for a while. It's completely up to you though, you don't have to if you don't want to. We can always keep looking for another place if you want," He spoke softly. He reminded me of Finnick, intimidating outward appearance, but soft on the inside.

"I- uh… I can stay with them. I-I'm okay with it." I responded. Judy got excited, Nick smirked, and Chief Bogo nodded his head. "Isn't this too much?"

"Here in Zootopia, we take care of everyone." Chief Bogo said. He stood back up, getting ready to leave. However, before he left he turned back around. "It was nice meeting you, Jin." He narrowed his eyes at Judy and Nick. "Wilde, Wilde. Do not screw this up. I'm leaving a big responsibility in your hands. I will personally make your lives hel-" He looked at me and cleared his throat before correcting himself. "Make your lives _heck_ if you mess this up." With that, he walked away.

"Alright Jin, so you're going to be staying with us for a while. Don't worry, it'll be fun, I promise." Judy said excitedly. "Let us just finish a few things, then we'll be ready to go." It was hard to believe a whole day passed by already. The sun was gearing to set, and the rays of light began to shine on the city. _Looks like I might be here a bit longer than I thought..._


	4. Chapter 4: Home

Nick pulled into the basement garage of what he said was his apartment complex. They had already changed at the police department into their casual clothes, with Nick wearing a green shirt and grey slacks, and Judy wearing a grey shirt and blue pants. He parked in between a black truck and an elevator. Apparently in the ZPD, you were allowed to take home the police cruiser as a personal vehicle, so that was the vehicle we were using. That was pretty cool, I thought. _I've never heard of that back where I was from._ I waited patiently for Nick to open the door since I couldn't open it myself. Y'know, cop cars… Once he opened the door I hopped out onto the ground. Nick and Judy walked on both sides of me. This time however, Instead of holding only Judy's hand, I was holding both their hands. Something about holding hands with cops- or rather, semi-strangers, was weird. Nonetheless, they were an authority figure, so what they said goes.

We walked into the elevator. Nick clicked on the button reading the number 4. The doors closed, and we began to go up the building. _No elevator music? Hmm… Oh wait, is that only in malls? It feels like it's been so long since I've been to a mall._ The elevator dinged, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Let's go Jin. It's not too far from here," Judy said as she led the way, still holding my hand. _This is the most physical contact I've ever received from someone in one day_ , _and it's not even with a human…_ I sighed mentally. We walked down a hallway, and past a few doors before stopping at a door on the left. The plates on the front read 405. Nick put the key into the lock, unlocked it, and opened the door.

For an apartment, it felt pretty roomy. To the immediate left was a counter, and behind that led into the kitchen. To the right of us was a small closet, filled with mostly jackets and shoes. In front of us was a living room with a couch, a square table in the middle, and a TV against the wall. A little past that was a balcony, and there was a hallway to the right. I noticed that there were a few boxes in the corners, fully packed and taped. "What are those for?" I asked. I imagined they must have just moved in.

However, what Judy said was the opposite of what I thought. "Our lease is running out in a month. We're planning on moving out," She explained.

"Oh. Where are you moving to?"

"We've scouted a very nice house for a reasonable price not too far away from the police station, and near a good school. It's got a lot more room to move around, which I loooooove." Judy responded.

"We're planning on having a kid soon, so we wanted to move to a place where there's more space for them to play, and grow up in a good neighborhood." Nick explained further.

"That makes sense. How are you going to have the kid? And when?" I asked.

"Carrots, you got this," Nick said quickly as he walked towards the living room at a brisk pace.

"Nick no- ugh! Okay, Jin. When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, the, uh, stork brings them a baby."

"..."

"But, even though Nick and I love each other very much, the stork will not bring us a baby."

 _I have… SO many questions that maybe I shouldn't ask._ I didn't know what to say, so I stood there with a dumbfounded face. I could tell Judy was getting flustered because she started to dart her eyes around the room. "Because the stork won't bring us the baby, we're going to adopt a child from an orphanage. He may not be ours by blood, but we're going to love them all the same."

"... Um… Okay," I finally responded. It never occurred to me just how confusing something like that was for a kid. All she had to say was that they weren't compatible, and I would have easily understood that. Then again, I doubt she knows i'm actually 15.

"A-Anyways, let's show you to your bedroom." She led the way down the hallway. There were 3 doors, one on the left, right, and straight ahead. "This is the bathroom," Judy said as she opened the door to the left. The bathroom seemed relatively small. All it had was a toilet, a sink, and a shower. _No bath huh?_ Judy opened the door on the right side of me. "This is the guest room, where you can sleep until we find a new living arrangement or your parents." She opened the door wider to allow me to look inside. It was rather barren, mostly filled with boxes and a small wooden desk. There was carpet in the room, one of the only places that seemed to have it besides the living room. "If you need anything, you can find us either in the living room or our room, which is right here," She said as Judy pointed at hers and Nick's room down the hallway. "Come out whenever you're ready to. I'm planning on making dinner soon." Judy said as she stepped out of the room.

Now alone, I neatly folded my human pants and shirt and put them on the dresser. I pulled my phone out of the pocket and tried to turn it on. Surprisingly, it did, and after a few moments, booted up. _What!?_ I quickly went to contacts and went to Harry's number. I hovered over it, trying to decide if I should call him. _What would I say? 'Hey Harry it's Jin, I need help as i'm in another world?'_ I noticed the red in the top right of the phone's screen. 4% battery remained. It was now or never, so I clicked on his portrait and began to call him.

 _Its...ringing!?_ My heart began to pick up its pace just thinking about Harry answering his phone. It was still ringing. Finally, someone picked up. I felt myself shaking as he answered the phone.

"Hello?" I heard a voice on the other side.

"H-..." I paused a second, before answering. "Harry?" I asked. I debated speaking in German, since he and I both spoke it pretty well. We decided to learn it in middle school so we could talk in another language without other kids understanding us, or teachers for that matter. Needless to say, we cheated on quite a few tests in high school. The only reason we're taking the starter classes in high school was because we wanted easy A's. I remembered the good times, but I pushed them out of my mind because Harry began to respond.

"Uh...Sorry you have the wrong number. This is Julien," The voice replied.

My hopes crashed into the floor. "I-I see. Sorry." I managed before I hung up. With that my phone died, and I doubt they had any sort of charger for a human phone. I had a bad habit of setting myself up for failure and disappointment. This was one of those moments. I had to hold in my sadness, and resist the urge to cry. I sat down on the ground, leaning my back against the bed. "I'm never going home," I said. Something about saying it out loud made me realize I was never going back. Silent tears fell from my eyes. I managed to keep my crying to a minimum, only occasionally hiccuping. I just wanted to be alone right now and grieve for the life I lost. Sure Nick and Judy were good people, and no doubt good cops, but they shouldn't have to take care of me. I was a 15 year old trapped in a 3 year old's body. Claire's going to get in trouble because I disappeared, and there's nothing I could do about it. It wasn't her fault, she shouldn't have to pay.

Would they take away Mia, Josh, and Billy? That wasn't fair! Just because I screwed up, she was going to pay. I didn't hear Judy announce dinner, or even enter the room. "Jin, dinners- Hey, what's wrong." She asked. _Dammit, I hate it when someone sees me cry._ She sat down next to me.

"I-I'm never going to get back h-home…" I stuttered. "We're n-not going to find Claire, and she'll get in trouble because I-I'm a foster kid. They'll take away the other kids, and-" I hiccuped, unable to continue further.

Judy pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back in an attempt to calm me down. "Jin, it's okay. We're going to help you find them. No matter what. We're police officers, our job is to help people. We'll find your foster parent, don't worry."

"You don't understand. They're not here. They're not in Zootopia."

"Sweetie, don't worry okay? If we can't find them, we'll find some sort of living arrangement. You have to trust me though, okay? Do you trust me?"

I had to think about it. She wasn't going to understand that they weren't in this world. However, I did trust her. Maybe she couldn't find Claire. However, she could always set me up to live in another foster home, or even get adopted. I wouldn't mind being adopted and having parents, and I was the perfect age for it now. Maybe something good could come out of this if I couldn't get back home. Maybe… I could have real parents this time? It wasn't a 100% chance of it happening, but it could happen…

I nodded. "I trust you Mrs. Wilde. I'm sorry…"

"There's no need to be sorry. Don't worry about it, we'll find something out. I promise, everything will work out in the end. C'mon, let's go eat dinner," She said as she stood up and extended her hand. "I made spaghetti, hope that's alright." I took her hand and stood up. Spaghetti was the last thing I ate together with Claire and Mia. I pushed the thought out of my head. _I just finished crying, I'm not about to start again._ I nodded. I held Judy's hand as we walked out of the room and into the living room.

We walked out into the living room. I hadn't noticed it before, but they didn't have a dining table. It was probably packed, no doubt. Actually, I noticed that lots of things weren't there, such as no shelves, desks, or paintings/pictures. It was just a wooden floor until you got to the living room, which you took a step down into a slightly lower area which was covered by carpet, and even then there was only a couch and a recliner with a table in the middle, and a TV on the wall.

"Hey Jin, you've never had Judy's spaghetti, have you? It's amazing!" He exclaimed. He was sitting on the couch taking a bite of Judy's spaghetti, so I imagined it was safe to eat on it.

"Oh stop it Nick, it's not _that_ good," Judy responded. I sat down next to him, and Judy sat down on my other side, putting me in the middle. She handed me a small bowl, and a fork, then grabbed one from the table. _She must have made it and set it before she came to get me._ I began to slowly eat a bit. "How do you like it?" She asked.

Honestly, it was really good. Dare I say, better than Claire's? I wouldn't go that far, but it was definitely up there. I think if she put a bit more sauce, it would be a 10/10. However, I wasn't about to critique someone who was giving me free food in a foreign world. Maybe I could cook with her at some point? I did enjoy cooking… I returned to Judy's question. "I like it a lot. Nick was right, it's amazing." I said.

"Oh stop it you two. It's just average spaghetti," She said, blushing. I looked at Nick, and he gave me a sly smile. "What are you watching, Nick?" Judy asked.

"Nothing at the moment. Jin, do you want to watch cartoons?" Nick asked me. I thought about it for a second. I was always into animated shows, but judging by the age everyone thought I was, it would probably be early age cartoons teaching me how to dance or teaching my numbers. I was actually more tired than I thought, and I'd rather sleep soon than watch childish cartoons.

"Um… It's up to you," I responded. Nick clicked the remote, changing the channel to 13. Just as I thought, toddler cartoons came onto the T.V. 3 children appeared in a big open field, a tiger, a deer, and a panda. They were trying to figure out which way to go to get to a party. Remembering how some shows in my world were like this, I decided to give it a watch. Maybe, just maybe, I could learn something about this world that I didn't already know.

One of the animals was afraid of going to the party, apparently because a majority of the animals there were "predators." It was the deer, saying she was afraid of predators because she had been bullied by a wolf a long time ago for being "prey." It was at this point that the tiger and panda began to say how she wouldn't have to be afraid because predator and prey co-existed in zootopia, and they were not like their ancestors anymore. The show began to go into detail of what a predator was, and what prey was. _Hmm? I've heard them use predator and prey before, but I didn't know what they meant. So, according to this show, animals that don't eat meat are prey, and animals that do are predators? I guess that makes sense. So a long time ago, they used to be like the animals on my world? So that means they must've evolved, or something along those lines. Hmm… I'll have to check out a book or something. But that brings up another question. If they evolved to coexist, can I really be sure that I'm in another world, and not the future? No… That couldn't be right, because I haven't seen anything about humans._ I redirected my attention to the show. They were still traveling to the party, but now they began to sing to the deer, who was still scared because she was bullied by the wolf. They began to sing about how bullying is wrong, and we should be friends regardless if someone is a predator or prey.

I was actually getting caught up in the show. _This is like drugs for children!_ My childish brain wouldn't allow me to look away. I was still eating the spaghetti as I watched TV I hadn't been able to eat and watch TV in so long.

Finally, the show ended with them getting to the party, and the wolf who bullied the deer earlier apologizing for how he was acting, and he just said he had a bad day. She accepted the apology, and then they all danced. It was a rather cheesy ending, but heartwarming nonetheless. I couldn't help but to smile at the ending.

"Ready for bed, Jin?" Nick asked. I yawned as I nodded. "Alright, but first let's get you a bath. You're probably dirty from these last couple of days, and I bet a bath would make you feel great."

"A bath? I didn't see any," I remarked.

"There's one in our bathroom. Follow me," Nick said as he stood up. He quickly pulled out his phone and did something before putting it back away. I followed him as he went into his room. As this was my first time being in their room, I noticed that they had a pretty large bed. Had to be queen or king. Other than that, they had a small TV at the wall opposite of the bed, and a dresser. The rest was mostly boxes. There were 2 doors in the room. One was the bathroom, which Nick opened, and the other must have been a closet. I ignored the closet and went into the bathroom.

It was bigger than the other bathroom, but not by much. Nick was right though, they did have a bath in there. He began to turn one of the knobs and water poured out. He put the plug on the bottom so no water would escape. _Oh no. He's not going to stay here is he? He is, isn't he. Well, at least he's responsible. He'd make a good father. But damn… This is embarrassing._

Once the bath was a suitable level of height and warmth, Nick turned the water off. "Alright, let's get you out of those clothes and into the bath," He said. I slowly began to undress myself, putting the clothes to the side. Once I was fully undressed, Nick helped me into the bathtub. I made sure to cover myself with my hands and, to my surprise, my tail. I still wasn't sure how to control my tail, but I had a faint idea. At the very least, it wasn't as hard to control as making my claws come out.

"I-I can bathe myself, you know," I stuttered, embarrassed.

"Nice try, but you're only around 3. Last I checked, children under 6 should never be left unsupervised in the bathtub," Nick replied factually.

"Ok…"

Nick began to put shampoo on my head. "Close your eyes, I'm going to wash your fur," He said. My ears instinctively went back as Nick began to scrub my head, attempting to get any and all dirt out of my head. Considering I slept on the ground last night, It probably was good I was getting a bath, although I did much prefer showers. It didn't matter though, because as long as I was a young snow leopard, I wasn't going to be very independent. Nick finished with my head and began to work on my shoulders and neck. Apparently, washing yourself when you had fur took much more work than if you just had skin. As soon as Nick's hand left my head, my ears perked up. _There's another thing I don't know how to control._

Nick began to scrub my back. I still kept my eyes clothes in order to not get any soap in them. He finished with my back and then cleaned my arms. "Hold on, keep your eyes closed," He said as he grabbed something from the bath. I felt water being poured on my head, cleaning away all the dirt and the soap. I still kept my eyes closed while he continued to wash me off. I heard the door open. "Huh? Oh, thanks Judy!" Nick thanked as the door closed again. "Alright, we're almost done, let's just get your legs. Stand up real quick."

I did as he said and he began to clean my legs and my lower back. This was as uncomfortable as you'd expect, but thankfully he only did it briefly. He cleaned my tail as well, and I gave a small yelp. I didn't like people touching it, I could tell that much for sure. Nick apologized, cleaned it more gently, and washed it off.I was allowed to sit back down as Nick finished cleaning me. He poured water on me a few more times, just making sure all the soap was gone. "We're good to go, you're all clean now," Nick proclaimed as he pulled the plug, letting the water slowly drain. By this point I was struggling to stay awake, and Nick had to help me get out of the bath. He grabbed a towel and began to dry me off. I had to say, I did feel very clean afterwards, and I would have thanked Nick for bathing me if I was more awake.

With myself mostly dry, I was looking for my clothes. "Don't worry, we got pajamas for you. Lift your arms," Nick commanded. I did as he said, lifting my arms. He put a shirt over me, and helped me put my pants on. At this point, I was leaning on the wall, trying to stay awake. "Hold on little guy, I got you."

Nick lifted me up and put me over his shoulder. I closed my eyes. I normally wouldn't feel comfortable being picked up and carried, but I was barely conscious. These pajamas fit well. Whatever they were made out of, they were comfortable. More comfortable than the pajamas I had back home. Nick left the bathroom and walked out. I heard Judy's voice momentarily before Nick gave a quiet "Shhh." Judy let out an "Awww" before we went into what I presumed was the hallway. Shortly after, Nick put me down on something and covered me with a blanket.

"Goodnight, Jin," He whispered as he turned the light off. At this point, I was already pretty far away consciously, but I managed to give a response, although I wasn't sure what I really meant.

"Night...Dad."

* * *

 **Real quick author note. You probably don't know, but I freeball updates, deciding to update whenever I feel like. Usually, I like to update once a week or once every two weeks. This is not set in stone, do not expect it to be.**

 **Also, any reviews are greatly appreciated. If you notice anything or just give me an idea, go ahead and review it. I read all of them, and enjoy reading them. Seriously, tell me what I could change. Maybe you want to say my story's good, or maybe you want to say it's shit. Whatever it is, I will read it and take it to heart, especially constructive criticism and ideas.**

 **Also, there will be more action soon, hopefully within the next few chapters. Next chapter will most likely be a small time skip, by a few weeks. Hopefully after that and one more, we can get into more drama/action. If you're against it, just let me know in the reviews. Or don't, I don't own you.**

 **Don't expect these author notes a lot.**

 **Special thanks to Dochnasty for helping me edit this chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5: Reaching Out To Catch You

**1 Week Later**

* * *

"Yes, alright. Ok, thank you," Judy said as she put her cell phone down. "Nick, that was the chief. He said they have room at the orphanage."

Nick sighed. "Alright, I guess it was bound to happen at some point. I'm gonna miss Jin. He was nice to have around."

"You know… There is something else we could do…"

* * *

I woke up, yawning. It had been a week since I first stayed with Nick and Judy. They had still continued packing whenever we were at their house, getting ready for their move. However, they tried to reach out to me and keep me included in whatever they were doing. They often took me out to the park or to just go see the sights, since I told them I've never actually been to Zootopia before. I felt bad because they were spending all this time with me doing stuff that would make me happy, yet I didn't know if it's what they wanted to actually do.

Everyday we would go to the police station and they would attempt to look through their database for any sort of clues to help me find Claire, and everyday ended in no results, which was to be expected. However, it still hurt to know I was never going back home… At that point, it almost seemed to be harder for Judy and Nick to keep a smile on their face whenever I asked about home. They never explicitly said they were giving up, and that's what they told me, but you could tell by their eyes that they believed there was no hope in finding Claire.

I rubbed my eyes and got off the bed. I walked to the desk and picked out a shirt and shorts. Nick and Judy insisted I wear shorts and short sleeved shirts due to being a snow leopard. They thought I would overheat, but I felt fine most of the time. As much as I wasn't a fan of shorts, I did appreciate the fact that they cared enough to make sure I wouldn't overheat. Finnick had brought over extra clothes for me, and at this point he had left me like 3 outfits and 2 pajamas. I hadn't noticed I was wearing new pajamas the first time because I was so tired, but when I asked Nick about it, he said he texted Finnick if he could bring over another pair or two. After that, Finnick just seemed to bring clothes over on his own. I knew I couldn't keep wearing hand-me-downs forever, but the thought was nice. Not to mention, Finnick had style.

I changed quickly and opened the door, walking out into the hallway. I could hear them talking about something. _I wonder what it is… They seem pretty into it. I could only catch bits and pieces of what they were saying._

"...Easy… Wouldn't take… Too long…"

"If you're sure… We… Ask?"

"Yeah. That seems like the right thing to do." I could hear them getting closer. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once again, they had bought me another necessity. I thanked them constantly, but I got the feeling that they didn't mind. "Are you sure you're up for this, Nick?"

"I can handle it. I can handle anything as long as you're by my side. Plus, I'm ready. I know at first I was unsure of how to handle this, but after giving it some time, I'm open to the idea. Let's do it." I continued to brush my teeth. When I first came here, I never noticed that my teeth were rather sharp. Basically, it was in line with an animal's teeth, more specifically a felines. I had 4 canines that weren't large, but given enough time I'm sure they would be. I made sure to brush and floss very well, taking better care of my teeth now than when I was a human.

I finished, and I opened the door. Judy and Nick were at my door, apparently knocking. I guess they didn't know I already woke up. "Maybe he's still asleep…" Nick whispered. They hadn't noticed me behind them, and I thought about trying to scare them. However, I decided against it. It wouldn't be very nice to the people who were caring for me at the time.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Wilde," I said. They turned around and I gave them a small smile.

"Good morning Jin," They said in unison. I snickered a bit. Judy spoke up "Jin, I've said it before, but you don't have to call us Mr. and Mrs. Wilde. Nick and Judy will be fine."

"But it's not polite."

Judy smiled. "You are so cute! Who taught you all these manners?"

"Um… I don't know," I answered truthfully. I don't remember where I learned my manners or why I was so polite. I think it just came naturally to me. If Harry was here, he would say something along the lines of 'It's because you're japanese.' Damn, I missed Harry.

Nick cleared his throat. "Jin, the orphanage called and let us know they have room to take you."

My ears pinned back. "Oh…" As much as I knew living here couldn't last forever, I wasn't expecting to leave so soon. This was going to be just like living in the foster homes, except worse. No one adopts, and usually everyone is stuck there until 18. _Well… Maybe it will be different here._ "Alright. Thanks for taking care of me while you could. I'll go get my stuff," I said as I walked into my- well, I guess it wasn't mine, was it? I walked into the _guest_ room.

"Uh, er, I-" Nick began before being jabbed by Judy. She shot him a glance, and he looked helpless.

"Stop chickening out!" Judy hissed.

"Why don't you do it!?" Nick questioned.

"I thought we were doing this together!" Judy whispered.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked as I came back up to them. I was going to ask if I needed to give back Finnick's old clothes too, or if I could still keep them.

"Uh, Judy has a question for you," Nick began.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde! How dare you leave this up to me! We are partners, gosh dangit, and we will do this like partners!" Judy seemed awfully upset at almost being left to ask the question alone. "You will not do what you did last week and make me talk about the birds and the bees ALONE again."

"W-what's the question?" I cautiously asked.

"We were...Uh… Wondering if you wanted to…" Judy began.

"...Wanted to stay here. With us. P-permanently?" Nick finished. He cleared his throat before he began to speak again. "We would, uh, like to adopt you."

Nick fidgeted with his hands. I had never seen him this nervous before. Not to mention, I wasn't completely processing what they were asking me. I heard adoption, but… That can't be true, right? Maybe adoption worked differently here than on earth.

Judy began again. "We couldn't find anything about you or anyone in your family in our database. We actually don't even know where you're from. You have no legal documents. If you did stay with us, we could get you to become a full fledged Zootopia citizen. You said you were a foster child, correct? Did they adopt you, or were you on a waiting list?"

"I was on, uh, a waiting list. Claire was my temporary guardian. S-she never actually adopted me, but she treated me like family."

"So that means you were staying with her until someone adopted you?" Judy asked. I nodded. I had honestly forgotten that I was still up for grabs. Claire treated me like a mother would, and yet… I was never able to call her 'mom'. I couldn't, because she wasn't my mother. She was someone taking care of me. So what makes me think I could call Judy and Nick my mother and father? They certainly did feel like parents… Actually, they felt more like parents to me in the week I've known them then the 3 years I stayed with Claire. Maybe it was because Claire let me have too much freedom. I think she was scared of saying no and causing a rift between me and her. She knew I smoked, and she said as long as it was in the house, she didn't care. With that being said, she didn't advise taking up smoking. I have a feeling if I tried to smoke here, Judy and Nick would easily reprimand me. Judy continued, "Well, we love having you around. I know it's sudden, but we would love it if you became part of our family, right Nick?"

"That's right! We've enjoyed your company ever since you came into our lives. It's a big question, and we want what you want. Don't worry about hurting our feelings if you want to say no."

"I-I've never had parents before. I d-dont know what to do or say," I said.

"If you want, we can let you think about it," Nick responded.

"No, i-it's, uh, it's okay. Um… I-" I wasn't sure what to say. On one hand, I was still technically up for adoption, and it is something I was hoping to happen, but never expecting. On the other… This is like a whole new world to me, and to be adopted by a group of sentient animals… This is like something you would read in a book. It was either live with them or live in another foster home, or even an orphanage. They were good guardians, and I'm sure they would make great parents. But It felt surreal. I didn't really know what to feel at this moment. Nonetheless, I answered. "Um… Okay, I'd like to b-be adopted… By you and Judy." It hadn't hit me yet that I just agreed to be adopted, and have them as my parents.

Nick and Judy stood still, and for a second I thought I had said something wrong. But after a few moments, I felt myself being picked up off the ground and scooped up into a hug by the both of them. "He said yes!" Judy said as she nuzzled me. "I have to tell my parents! I'll be right back, _son,"_ she emphasized the word son as she left the room. She was excited, which made me feel happy. Now it was just me and Nick.

"I'm so happy you said yes. I promise, you'll love it here. From this point on, you're a Wilde. It doesn't matter that you're a snow leopard, or that your father is a fox, or your mother is a rabbit. What matters is that we're family… And we love you all the same."

I started laughing. This didn't make sense. A human, who was transformed into a snow leopard cub, is now being adopted by a fox and a rabbit couple. These were my parents now. It sounded like it was a terrible movie pilot, and yet it was true. I was still laughing.

"Jin… Are you crying?" Nick asked.

I felt my face. Apparently, I wasn't laughing; Rather, I was crying. _There it is. There's the realization that I have parents now._ They weren't tears of sadness, though. I think they were more along the lines of tears of joy or disbelief. "I've been in a foster home for so long, I forgot I was able to be adopted. And now that it's happened, I don't know how to f-feel… It feels… Not r-real," I paused, taking a shaky breath. "How do I know this is actually going to h-happen?"

"Jin, look at me. I promise you, this is going to happen. We loved you ever since we set our sights on you. We want to give you a good home, a good family." He held me in his arms, and I let myself cry. This was unreal, it was like being in a dream. Judy came back for a moment, and after Nick told her my concerns, she also reassured that nothing would stop them from adopting me. She gave me a hug as well before she stepped away for a second.

"Mom, Dad? Maaaybe not right away… Hmm? No, just give him time to adapt… Well we're also moving too so- Oh yeah. We'll find a day." Judy was talking to her parents on her cellphone. She left the room once more. _She was talking to her parents about me? Then that meant... I had grandparents? Does Nick have any?_

"Jin, I want you to know you can call us whatever you want. Nick, Dad, Mom, Judy, it doesn't matter. Whatever's comfortable to you, okay?" He asked. I nodded. _I think I already called him dad at some point. It feels… Right._

"I'd like to c-call you D-Dad and Mom, but… It m-might take a while…" I answered truthfully.

"That's alright. Since we have the day off, we're going to have to go to a few places and get some legal documents, and also talk to the adoption agency. Hopefully, it won't take too long," Nick stated. I nodded, figuring we were going to leave rather soon. "We can probably even stop by a few stores and get you some toys and new clothes," He winked. I smiled. My parents… A fox and a rabbit… I was their son now… I loved it.

Judy came back into the room. "Alright, let's have breakfast, then we'll go out into the town with our new _son._ "

* * *

After a healthy breakfast of Pancakes, we were on our way to the doctors first. After waiting for a bit in the waiting room, we were taken into one of the doctors rooms. Nick and Judy sat at the waiting chairs, and I sat on the bed. A lion wearing a white coat and wearing glasses came into the room carrying a clipboard. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Wilde. I haven't seen you guys in a while. Here for a checkup?" He asked

Judy shook her head. "Not us, him."

The lion turned to look at me. I gave a small shy wave before looking back at my feet. "And who might this be?" He asked.

"This is Jin. He's our… He's our son," Judy replied.

The lion turned around. "Your son?" He asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"Well, not yet technically. That's actually one of the reasons we're here. Were trying to get everything sorted and all the paperwork together before we go to the adoption agency."

"Oh! Congrats you two! So, Jin's here for a check-up I presume?" Nick nodded in response. "Alright, let's get to it then. Hello Jin, my name is Dr. Hudson. I'm going to make sure everything's fine with you, okay?" Dr. Hudson asked me. I nodded, not like I could refuse anyways.

He began to check my height. "1 foot, 4 inches." _Holy shit I'm small. Wait, that means Nick and Judy are small too!_ He calculated my weight. "Hmmm... You're a little light for… What did you say his age was again?"

"Actually Dr. Hudson, we were hoping you could tell us that. See, he doesn't have a birth certificate, or anything like that. We're going to get that right after this, but we don't know how old he is."

"That is odd. Well, just from looking at him, I can tell you he's around 2 or 3. Jin, open your mouth if you would," Dr. Hudson ordered. I did as he asked, and he began to look around. "Yep, I would say around 2 or 3. Look here, notice how his fangs are still small, and some of his baby teeth isn't in yet? He's still a cub, and if he was 4, his baby teeth would completely be in. I can determine his full age if I take a blood sample, if you'll allow me," Dr. Hudson said. Judy looked at Nick, and Nick nodded. "Ok, we'll do it when I've finished with the check up."

 _Ugh, blood._ I was not a fan of blood for some reason. I'm almost certain it was because I saw a horror movie when I was a lot younger, but I can't recall it. Shots didn't bother me, but the blood did. Snapping me back into reality, Dr. Hudson began to shine a light into my eyes. Thankfully, it was over quickly, and he went to taking my blood pressure. He noted that my blood pressure seemed fine.

"How has Jin been so far? Anything unusual?" Dr. Hudson asked.

"We do have some concerns, doc. For one, he seems to have a bigger vocabulary than one would expect around his age. And I mean, big. He forms words no problem. He also knows how to use the toilet on his own. I guess the only real big concern is that he doesn't eat too much."

"The vocabulary isn't a big problem, he may have just learned a lot before he met you guys. Again, he may have learned how to use the toilet before he met you, but that is a big feat on it's own. He could just be really intelligent for his age. As for the eating habits, just try and introduce him to different foods, and see if he likes new kinds. Make sure to feed him 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Hopefully with time, Jin will eat a bit more. Okay, we're almost done. Jin, I need you to take off your clothes so I can perform a physical exam."

 _Uh, what?_ I was reluctant to take off my clothes, so I shook my head. I disliked being naked. I wasn't comfortable with it when Nick undressed me to take baths, and now that someone who I didn't know was here as well… 3 people is too many, even if he was a doctor. Nick and Judy came up to me and kneeled to my level. "Jin, Dr. Hudson needs to make sure you're in a good condition, and to make sure nothings wrong," Judy said.

"It's… Embarrassing. I don't like being naked…" I stated.

"I know, sweetie, but we have to make sure you're alright. Please?" Judy asked.

"We'll be right here with you, okay?" Nick said.

I quickly thought it over. They've been there for me so far, and there was no real way of getting out of this, was there? Nick and Judy were going to be there for me, so I guess I could endure this embarrassment… I reluctantly nodded. Slowly I started to undress. Once I was completely undress, Dr. Hudson began to put his stethoscope onto my chest, and telling me to take deep breaths. After, he began to check my body for anything wrong or out of the ordinary. He poked my abdomen, and asked me question like 'does this hurt' and 'how does this feel' as he poked and prodded various parts of my body. He also checked over my tail, although I wasn't sure why. Then, he began to check below my abdomen. That part sucked.

True to their word, Nick and Judy were right next to me through it all. "Just one more thing and we're done for today. I'm going to take Jin's blood now." He pulled out a needle from a box, and got close to me. "This won't hurt, I promise," He reassured me. I looked away as I felt a pinch in my right arm. A few stray tears fell from my eyes, but it was just from pain. Luckily, no one really saw it or took notice of it. I felt the pain subsiding, and looked at my arm. There was blood seeping from where the needle was.

I felt myself getting dizzy, and leaned onto Judy for support. I was shaking at this point as well. "Jin, are you okay?" Judy asked.

"I'm scared of blood," I whispered as a few more stray tears fell.

"Don't look at it. Just look at me, alright? Dr. Hudson is almost done cleaning it." I listened to what Judy said and stared at her. I felt Dr. Hudson cleaning it with a cotton ball, before I felt what I assumed was a band-aid.

"Alright, we're all done! Let me go and run this through the machine, and I'll be able to tell you more about Jin. But first, since he was a good boy, he deserves a lollipop… Assuming it's alright with his parents?" While he was talking, I put my clothes back on with the help of Nick and Judy.

"Go for it."

"Alright, now we're talking! I've got cherry for you, is that good?" Dr. Hudson asked. I nodded. I hadn't had sweets in a decent amount of time. He reached into a jar and pulled out a cherry lollipop. It was a different kind I hadn't seen before. These kinds of lollipops were in the shape of a paw, which I thought was rather cute.

"Thank you!" I thanked Dr. Hudson.

"You're quite welcome!" Dr. Hudson chuckled. "I'll be back in a few minutes, just wait here," He said as he left the room.

"You did very well, Jin!" Nick said. Judy nodded her head in agreement. Judy picked me up and placed me on her lap as Nick continued to talk to me. "I'm very proud of you, Jin." He ruffled the fur on my head and I smiled. "Where are we going next, Judy?"

"Well, let's see… After the doctors, we're going to the adoption agency, and after that, we'll need to go get a birth certificate."

"We should also pickup a car seat for Jin here," Nick pointed out.

"Good point. Yeah, we'll have to pick one up," Judy said. We sat around in silence for a few more minutes until we heard the door open. Dr. Hudson returned, carrying a different colored clipboard this time.

"Alright, I still need to run some more tests later down the line, but I got what I needed for now. Little Jin here has a blood type of A Positive, and from what I can gather from his blood, he is about to turn 3 very soon. Do you know when his birthday is?"

Judy nodded. "He said March 18th. That's in a few weeks, so we gotta get ready for his birthday!"

"Well, that's good. At least you know how old he is now, and his birthday too. That'll make getting a birth certificate that much easier. Well, that's all I can tell you for now. Eventually I'd like to run some more tests, but for now we're all done. Don't forget to bring him back for a check up again later on in the year, or if he's sick. I'll be here."

"Thanks Doc," Nick thanked as he stood up and shook his hand. Dr. Hudson shook it back.

"Bye Dr. Hudson," I said.

"Bye Jin. Be a good boy," He said as we left the room. Judy was carrying me out, although I wasn't sure why. It must've looked weird for her, carrying something half her size. Nonetheless, we walked out of the clinic after Nick payed for the check up and into the police car, which doubled as our regular car.

"Alright, too the adoption agency now, correct?" Nick asked. Judy nodded as she pulled out of the parking lot, and went onto the street. The day was mostly sunny with a few white clouds here and there, but overall there was nothing out of the ordinary. _So… 2 years old huh? No wonder i've been sleeping a lot. Also, looking back at it, I didn't realize I was actually as small as I was._ I stared outside, watching all the animal pedestrians go about their business. Where did all the animals that needed to be in a certain climate go? Was there a certain part of town for them? I haven't seen any other snow leopards or jaguars or even an ostrich. I'd have to ask Judy and Nick at some point to figure it out. I felt myself closing my eyes and falling asleep. _Looks like car rides are my weakness. I can't fight it either because of how young I am. Guess i'm just going to sleep through the ride…_

* * *

I slept through the adoption agency AND getting my birth certificate, but Judy and Nick took care of it. Apparently, I was all but adopted. I was allowed to stay with Judy and Nick, but somebody from the adoption agency would come by sometime in the future to see the living conditions and make sure they were okay. As for the birth certificate, after showing all available documents to the government they had begun the process of beginning the paperwork. They would mail it when they finished it.

We stopped by a kids store where Nick and Judy bought me a few new sets of clothing. Now, on top of the clothing that was given to me by Finnick, I had a 2 sets of shorts, 2 sets of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 new pajamas, some underwear, and 6 new shirts. They attempted to buy me a hat, but I said I didn't like wearing hats. After that, Nick and Judy bought me a few toys. Mostly stuffed animals, which I didn't mind, but they also bought me a few books, which I was really interested in. One of the books they ended up getting was something on the history of Zootopia, and how Zootopia was. Although it was a children's book, I was fine with reading it like that. If anything, all it would do is insult my intelligence. Nick and Judy vowed to read to me at night, and even if they didn't, as long as I read it it would be fine.

After we arrived home, we had dinner and they put me to bed. I was falling asleep as Judy read to me, but I was okay with it. It had been a long day, and I was eager for the next to start. We were moving soon, and I hadn't seen the house, but I was ready to move. It was supposed to be more kid friendly and also bigger, so that was an exciting thing. Nonetheless, I was ready to move, and I was excited.

But for now, it was time to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Outer Reach

**3 Weeks Later**

I stood in front of our new house. We had just left the apartment for the last time, as Nick and Judy had let their lease run out and decided to buy the house they had been looking at. Surprisingly, it costed less each month than the apartment. This was probably because the apartment was near the center of town, and had lots of amenities to go along with it.

The house was a nice moderate sized house. It was all one story, and the outside was painted blue, with various parts painted white, and a brown roof. From what I had seen, it was 3 beds and 2 baths. There was also a garage. I had never lived in a single story house, so this was going to be different for me. However, I was excited. My room was actually pretty big for the size of the house. I'd say it was about the size of my old room, if not slightly bigger. One thing that was really nice about the room was the big window on the front, giving me a view of the outside.

"Yeah, just put it over in the center," Nick directed an elephant carrying a big box into the house. Nick and Judy had managed to get a few days off for the move, and they were showing the movers where to place everything.

I was missing most of the stuff I had when I first came to Zootopia. I couldn't find my cigarettes Harry had given me, or my phone. They probably got lost during the move. However, I did have knowledge on where my lighter was. I did not plan on losing that, since it was one of the only things that I had left to remind me of Harry. _I'm gonna have to get rid of those cigarettes at some point before I get in trouble._ Judy walked towards me after showing the rhino where to put the television. "Hey Jin, excited?" She asked.

I nodded. "It looks really nice! When can we go inside?" I asked.

"When they're all finished putting everything inside. I would say another 30 or so minutes, then we can go inside."

"Awww. Alright." Judy picked me up and put me on the hood of the car before she herself sat up there with me.

"Are you feeling okay? Not too hot?" She questioned with a concerned tone to her voice.

I shook my head. "No, it feels nice out right now. Why do you and Nick ask constantly? Am I not supposed to be in the city?"

"No no, it's nothing like that. It's just that snow leopards, among other animals that are used to a tundra climate, can overheat easily in much warmer areas. I just want to make sure you don't overheat, and make sure you're hydrated. That's why we have you wear shorts and short-sleeved t-shirts. When we know you're comfortable, we'll let you wear pants and long sleeved shirts. Everyone underestimates the heat, even me sometimes," Judy reflected. "If you were to go to the sahara square, you would probably overheat easily. Also, summer will be here soon, so we need to make sure you can withstand the heat for that."

"I guess that makes sense," I nodded in agreement. _I didn't even think of that. I guess that makes sense why they were so worried about me the first few weeks. They practically froze to death with keeping the air conditioners on! I guess that means they really do care about me… It's nice to see them attempt to make me as comfortable as possible._ "I think i'm ready to start calling you Mom and Nick Dad. I'm comfortable enough now that I've been here for a while."

"That's great news!" Judy exclaimed as she went in for the killer hug. "That makes me sooooo happy! I bet it'll make Nick- er, Dad, happy as well." She released me from her death hug. "So, are you excited to meet Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow?"

"Yeah! I've never had grandparents before! Where do they live?"

"They live in Bunnyburrow. We have to take a train to get there, but it's doesn't take *that* long to get there. Bunnyburrow is a place mostly filled with rabbits, but there are other animals there as well. It's a very different place from Zootopia, as it's mostly farmlands over there. That works out though, since it gives you a lot of room to run around and play. I'm excited to see grandma and grandpa again, and I know they're really excited to see you!"

"How long will we be there?" I asked.

"Only for a day or two. Nick and I have to start going to work in a few days. We can't have as much time off as we'd like," Judy sighed. "Chief Bogo said he was happy to give us a few days off to move in and get accustomed, but he needed us to go back to work as soon as possible." Judy paused for a moment, before she smiled. "I'm certain he gave us extra time because he knows we have a child now."

"Which one was Chief Bogo again?"

"He was the big scary looking buffalo. He had the big horns, and he was the one asked you if you'd like to stay at our apartment when we first found you."

"I remember now! He had this scary look whenever he talked to you two, but when I was around he smiled more!"

"Yup, that's Chief Bogo for you. He's got a soft spot for kids. He's still got a soft spot for adults, but it's harder to come by. When you're an adult, he goes 'RAWR IM CHIEF BOGO AND I'M SCARY!'" Judy yelled. I giggled. My Mom had a pretty good sense of humor. She was really energetic when it came to me and life in general, and I appreciated that. It was hard to find people who were so happy about life back in my world. Actually, everyone and everything seemed happier in Zootopia. Being constantly surrounded by happy things can bring up your spirits as well, so I didn't mind at all. "Clawhauser wants you to come by the police station again so he can say hi to you. Come to think of it, most of the other officers want to meet you too, so we'll have to bring you by again sometime."

"Ok, that sounds like fun!" I exclaimed. I liked going out into the city. I used to live in a small town, so I wasn't used to having so many things close together, and so many options. Plus, going to make friends with a bunch of police officers and learning where the police station wasn't a bad thing either.

Judy looked back at our new house. "They should be almost finished, let me go see if we can go inside now." I nodded as Judy hopped off the hood of the car, and walked inside the house, looking for Nick.

"Hello there," I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a tiger in a black long sleeved shirt buttoned to the top. He was also wearing black dress pants, and finished his outfit with black dress shoes. The toothy smile he gave me made it seem like he knew me. "Jin, right? Do you remember me? We met at the Police Station last month?"

I tried hard to recall, and I did remember meeting a tiger, but that was all I remembered. "I think so," I acknowledged, "But I don't remember your name."

"Don't worry about it. My name is Phillip Castallo. But once again, my nickname is Blackjack. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Oh, we're moving in here. Actually, that's what's happening right now, all our furniture is being moved into there."

"So you found your parents then?"

My ears dropped as I shook my head sadly. "No, there was no record of them. I don't know where they went. However, I was adopted."

"Oh? Who adopted you?" Blackjack asked with a raised eyebrow. From what I could tell, Blackjack seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and he actually seemed to care for my answers. I felt like I was missing something about him, but then again, it could have been anything since I barely remembered my first encounter with him at the police station.

"The same people who found me. Nick and Judy Wilde adopted me a few weeks ago. I'm officially their son… I just need the paper to say it now. That should be arriving this week, along with my birth certificate. I'm Jin Wilde now!" I smiled.

"Whoa, they adopted you?" Blackjack doubted. I nodded. "Hmm… That's interesting…" He drifted off. Blackjack looked at his watch. "Shoot, I've gotta run. My meetings almost started. I'll see you later, Jin," Blackjack said as he walked to his parked car across the street.

"Bye Mr. Castallo!"

"Please, call me Blackjack."

"Isn't it rude to not call someone by their last name?"

Blackjack grinned. "Not if I say it isn't." He drove off without another word, disappearing behind some more houses. I turned back towards our new house. I watched a zebra carry some huge looking box, but I wasn't sure what was in it. Probably a desk. Probably…

Nick and Judy walked out and towards me. "Hey champ, the house is just about done. Want to go look at your room?"

"YEAH!" I yelled. This was exciting. Most of the workers who carried the boxes inside were just about to leave, so the house was empty at this point. We walked inside, looking at the general layout. There were still a lot of boxes strewn around the house, but most of the big things were in their place.

After taking a right down a hallway, and a left at the first door, we entered my room. It had 2 medium sized windows looking into the backyard, and a decently sized closet. They had a wooden dresser set up, and the top part of it was lined with shelves. The bed was in the left corner, facing the door The room was painted blue, and a maroon rug covered the floor. "Wow…" I stated in awe. "This is… Nice," I continued.

"We painted the room ourselves. I hope you like blue. This is your room now, so that means you have to take care of it. As long as you live with us, this is your domain." Nick replied.

"Wow… Thank you. Thank you, Mom and Dad." I whispered as I closed in for the hug.

"It's no problem sweetie." Judy said. "We love you."

"I love you too. And you too Dad."

With that finished, they showed me the rest of the house and, once finished with that, I was able to go into my room and unpack. Nick and Judy went into the living room and began to unpack some of the bigger things. I only had about 2 small boxes in my room, but I opened them and began to organize what needed to be. Most of it included putting clothes into a certain drawer, but it was no hassle. Sadly, the clothes I had when I journeyed to this world were thrown out. It's alright since I couldn't wear them anyways, but I would have rather kept them.

After I finished that, dinner had already been finished. After eating a small meal, Nick and Judy told me I should go to bed because we were going to visit Judy's parents early in the morning. I took their advice, and went to bed after dinner.

* * *

I woke up, and we were already on the train to Bunnyburrow. I was in Nick's arms, and we were sitting down on a chair. That was the magic thing about being a 2 year old. No matter when I sleep, I can sleep through anything, and as such, wake up anywhere. Nick must have felt me stir, as he looked down at me and said "You up, buddy?"

"I think so," I yawned. "I don't remember getting on the train."

"You did sleep alot. You were up for a while, although i'm sure you were half asleep. You were like a zombie at that point," Nick laughed. "Want to go look outside the train?"

"Okay," I replied as I hopped off him. "Where's Mom?" I asked.

"She went to the bathroom, so she'll be here soon. We just left the train station not too long ago, so we still have time to enjoy the train ride. This is my first time out of the city too, so we'll get to see what it's like together. C'mon, there's a spot where you can see everything at the front of the train," Nick said as he held out his paw. I took it, and followed him as he led the way.

After going up the stairs and onto the 2nd floor, we approached a glass dome letting us view the outside. The train was speeding past pretty fast, and it reminded me of those japanese bullet trains we used to hear about in class. _I wonder if this train is just as fast, if not faster?_ We were near the end of the train, and I could see the city. "Whoa, is that-"

"Zootopia?" A voice asked. I turned around to see Judy walking up to me. "Yeah, it's really big. I couldn't believe how big it was when I first got here."

My face gave away my puzzled look. "Wait, you didn't live there? I thought you were born there."

"No, I was born and raised in bunnyburrow. I moved out to Zootopia to live my dream of becoming a police officer. And that's where I met your father. He was con artist at the time, but I set him straight."

"You sure about that, Carrots?" Nick asked. "How do you know I haven't been conning people while you were in the bathroom? As a matter of a fact, I just taught Jin how to make some easy money…"

After finishing his sentence, Nick got a playful punch in his leg. "You better not be teaching our son anything illegal!" Judy scolded. Just as she finished scolding Nick, she turned to me. "Jin, sweetie, if he tries to teach you anything that doesn't sound right, just let me know and I'll make sure he gets punished," She said sweetly. I smiled and nodded.

"Now hold on a second, I-"

" **WE WILL BE ARRIVING IN BUNNYBURROW IN 2 MINUTES."**

"Well, let's go meet your grandparents, Jin." Judy said as we walked back down to our seats and eagerly awaited for the train to stop. I suddenly felt anxious and nervous. I didn't have grandparents, and Claire's never came to visit. Come to think of it, I never even really saw them. I wonder if her parents were even still alive? _That's a rather morbid thought._

The train stopped and we waited for most of the other passengers to leave first. Most of the other passengers were rabbits, now that I noticed. I don't think there was a single predator on the train, either. Well, aside from me and my dad… _It is a mostly rabbit area right? I guess that makes some sense. I hope we aren't treated too differently…_

After a minute we stepped out and into the platform. Judy was looking around frantically for her parents, before she spotted them. "Mom! Dad!" She called out to them. They looked over in her direction before seeing her. "Judy!" Her parents called back, as they ran to her and embraced. Nick began to slowly walk to them, and I followed behind.

"Hello Mr. Hopps, Mrs. Hopps. It's been a while. How's the farm been treating ya?" Nick asked.

"Very well, actually. We had a good harvest last summer." Mr. Hopps responded. He noticed me and looked straight down at me. There wasn't too much of a height difference, but he was still taller than me. "This must be little Jin that we've heard so much about." As he finished that sentence, I stood behind Nick's leg, hiding from view.

"Awwww." I heard Mrs. Hopps say.

Nick chuckled. "Sorry about that, he's a little shy. C'mon Jin, come meet your grandparents." At my father's orders, I stepped out from behind him, but still stayed close to his legs. I wasn't sure what to say, or what to do, so I ended up giving them a small smile.

"H-Hi." I stuttered. _Damn, this is 3rd grade all over again. I guess I never really got over being shy. Nonetheless, they are going to be part of my family, so I'm going to have to make a bigger effort to get comfortable with them._ Taking my own advice, I extended my hand for a handshake. "M-My name is J-Jin Wilde."

The rabbit pair chuckled. "Stu, look, he's so cute!" Mrs. Hopps said.

"I know, Bonnie." Mr. Hopps replied. "Did you two teach him that?" He asked as he shook my hand.

"He didn't learn it from us. Jin was very polite and kind when we first met him. We haven't really needed to teach him manners, he seems to know them already." Judy responded.

"Well, Jin, we're Stu and Bonnie Hopps, although we'd prefer it if you would call us Grandma and Grandpa." Mrs. Hopps encouraged. They were both smiling pretty big. From what I've understood, They were ecstatic to have a grandchild, as it's one of the things they wanted for a long time.

"Um, Okay." I answered. Without warning, I was bombarded with an embrace from my now-grandparents. Nick and Judy were in the background, giggling. After what felt like minutes, they released me. "Alright, let's go home and visit your cousins." _Cousins? Plural? As in, a comma and a S?_

* * *

We pulled up to a house that seemed to be part outside, and part of it inside a hill. _So… They have a normal house for part of it, but then they have burrows in it?_ My thoughts were interrupted as someone began to talk. "Kids, come meet Judy and Nick's son and your new nephew!" Mr. Hopps Yelled. At first, there was nothing. Then, the ground began to shake. _An earthquake!?_ My thoughts were proven incorrect however, as a rush of grey burst out from the house. _What!? W-what is that!?_ As the blob of grey began to move closer, I could see clearly that it was a group of rabbits. _Wait, how many siblings does Judy have!? T-That's way too many!_ There had to be 1000's of them!

They swarmed me, and all at once I began to feel multiple furry paws on me. They were touching me and feeling my head. Some were even hugging me.

"He's so cute!"

"Can we keep him!"

"Where'd you find him Judy!?"

"What's his name?"

"Wow, a snow leopard!"

"Teehee, I like his spots. They're so cute!"

"How old is he?"

"Kids, take your nephew into the house and show him around." Mr. Hopps said. I was quite literally swept off my feet and carried towards the house. Trying to grab anything resulted in failure since there WAS nothing to grab. _OH GOD HELP MEEEEEEEE!_ Before I knew it, I was inside the house, awaiting another tornado to swarm me.

Even though I was thrown around like a ragdoll, it did feel really great to have this many family members. _Christmas must be awesome with them!_ Nick and Judy entered the house not too far behind, along with Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. "Alright, let's all introduce ourselves to Jin."

"My name's Alice, and I'm 14 and I like to take pictures!."

"I'm Nina, and my favorite color is blue!"

...This was going to take a while…

* * *

 **Not dead just busy. I'm thinking i'm going to start writing again, so more chapters soon to come hopefully.**


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